Kilifi County residents want more time to analyze Privatization Bill, decry lack of civic education

Kilifi County residents have called on the National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance and National Planning and the Select Committee on Public Debt and Privatization to extend public participation exercises on the proposed Privatization Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 36 of 2025).

The residents who presented their views on the Bill to the Finance Committee led by Chairperson Kimani Kuria (Molo), expressed concern over inadequate civic education and public awareness on the bill, urging Parliament to extend public participation exercises to give Kenyans more time to understand the proposals.

They demanded for clarity on why the government wants to sell public assets and what this means for ordinary citizens.

Kuria explained that the main goal of privatization is to enhance efficiency and improve revenue generation by allowing the private sector to unlock the potential of underperforming state corporations.

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While some residents opposed the move, others welcomed it, noting that privatization could enable Kenyans to acquire shares in public assets and reduce their heavy reliance on the exchequer for funding.

The residents urged the committee to include strict safeguards to ensure that Kenyans benefit first from share allocations, warning that foreign investors should not dominate ownership of key national assets.

Those who supported the bill emphasized that the government should proceed carefully and avoid disposing of strategic assets without broad and meaningful consultation with the public.

In Makueni County participants opposed the Bill on grounds of mistrust on the real intention of the Bill. The exercise is taking place across 24 counties.

The government had outlined 11 state corporations, which include the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB), Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), and National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK), to be privatized. 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)

By Obegi Malack

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