The iconic landmark is wholly owned by the government.The government indicated that KICC “required to be incorporated into a limited company.”
The government is also looking to dispense with some of the corporations because of negative working capital and low liquidity.
The government has lined up 11 State corporations for privatisation a little over a month after President William Ruto signed the Privatisation Bill, 2023 into law.
In a notice on Monday, November 27, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u invited members of the public to give their views on the plans to hand over the institutions to private investors.
According to the CS, the move to privatise the companies is geared towards the government’s efforts for fiscal consolidation and spurring economic development.
Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB), Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), and National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK) are among the companies listed on the privatisation programme.
Others are Kenya Seed Company Limited (KSC), Mwea Rice Mills Ltd (MRM), Western Kenya Rice Mills Ltd (WKRM), New Kenya Cooperative Creameries Limited (NKCC), Numeric Machining Complex Limited (NMC), Vehicle Manufacturers Limited (KVM) and Rivatex East Africa Limited (REAL).
“The National Treasury and Economic Planning has prepared the 2023 Privatisation Programme in accordance with the Privatisation Act 2023. The Programme can be accessed from The National Treasury website
“Pursuant to the Constitution, the Privatisation Act 2023 and all other relevant legislation, the National Treasury invites members of the public to submit written comments and/or input/memoranda on the 2023 Privatisation Programme, in the prescribed format and send them electronically to pr***********@*********go.ke or through post or hand-delivered to the following address on or before of close of business on Monday 11th December 2023,” the notice reads in part.
The signing of the revised Privatisation Bill, 2023 into law made it easier to sell state enterprises to private companies.
List 35 State-owned corporations on NSE
The notice to privatise the 11 firms comes barely a week after President Ruto committed to facilitating sell of at least 35 State corporations and have them listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
Acknowledging the challenges faced in the initial attempt to list the first five State-owned companies on the stock exchange, Ruto expressed his determination to overcome hurdles and push forward with an even more ambitious agenda.
The Head of State noted that some of the State-owned corporations were trapped in government bureaucracy, hindering the exploitation of their potential.
“We have otherwise very lucrative companies but they are trapped in government bureaucracy when the services they are offering can actually be better offered by the private sector,” President Ruto said.
“So we will make these opportunities available and I want to tell our Kenyan private and public sectors that opportunity is coming and they should prepare for being part owners.”
