Mismanaged parastatals: locals demand probe against bosses before sale

Stakeholders from Machakos County have called for the prosecution of heads of non-profit-making parastatals that are set to be privatized if the Privatization Bill, 2025, is passed.

According to them, all the struggling parastatals must have been mismanaged. Therefore, the heads should be investigated and, if found guilty, made to return all the resources and finances they misused.

This was during the third day of Public Participation on the Privatization Bill, 2025, in Machakos County, where the Lower Easter delegation, led by Kitui Rural Member of Parliament David Mwalika who was told that privatizing struggling entities without holding those responsible for misuse of resources is not sufficient.

“We cannot move forward to privatize non-profit making entities without holding the managers who took them to their knees accountable. We want all those who embezzled the funds meant for these parastatals arrested and prosecuted,” Jonathan Ndambuki said.

At the same time, the Members drawn from Finance and National Planning and Public Debt and Privatization Committees were asked to disclose the number of parastatals that are set to be privatized if the Bill is signed into law.

In his response, Mwalika informed the residents that 80 per cent of the over 200 parastatals in the country depend on the exchequer for their operation.

However, he stated that the role of identifying and listing those to be privatized remains with the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, John Mbadi.

The MP further disclosed that after Cabinet approval, the list will be brought to Parliament for Members’ approval before implementation.

“The list will be brought to Parliament, which has the power to either add more Parastatals or remove some from the list before it is approved or rejected,” Mwalika told the residents.

Among other issues raised by the locals was the need for a thorough civic education on Bills before they are engaged to give their views.

They decried being rushed through the Public Participation process without being given enough time to read and understand what the Bill entails.

This is even as Mombasa residents raised questions to the delegation led by the Committee chairperson and Molo MP Kimani Kuria on how the process would be carried out and how ordinary Kenyans are to benefit from the process.

“How will ordinary Kenyans benefit from buying shares when most of us cannot afford them?” One of the residents posed.

“We don’t want a situation where only the rich have access to share ownership and the ordinary Kenyans are excluded.”

Job security was also a recurring concern, with the participants arguing that every time the government sells its stake, the first casualties are always workers.

“What assurances do we have that our people won’t lose jobs once privatization takes place?” They questioned.

Other residents questioned the transparency of the process, saying Privatization must be done in a way that benefits the public and not just a small circle of elites.

While some participants supported the bill, believing private investment could revive struggling institutions and improve services, others cautioned that safeguards must be put in place to protect workers, ensure broad participation in shareholding, and prevent loss of strategic national assets.

Kuria defended the push for privatization, saying it was a strategic move to improve efficiency as well as enhance service delivery.

He gave an example of Safaricom’s evolution, noting that the company grew exponentially after the government reduced its ownership stake to 35 per cent and let the private sector run its operations.

“Safaricom today is a global benchmark in efficiency, innovation, and profitability, but it was not always so when it was fully owned by the government. Privatisation opened the door to expansion, increased profits, and thousands of jobs for Kenyans,” Kuria noted.

He further argued that privatisation ensures expansion of companies and increases profits, which in turn means more employment opportunities for Kenyans and higher tax revenues for the government.

The delegation will be in NITA Kitengela, Kajiado County, to collect public views on the Bill today.