At least 11 of Kenya’s richest state corporations and agencies have had a change of guard at the helm since President William Ruto came into power, bringing new faces to the agencies valued at close to Sh6 trillion.
At least eight of the 15 rich state corporations and agencies, which had a combined revenue of Sh538 billion based on their latest financial reports, have had both the board chairperson and managing director/director-general, changed in the last eight months.
This is as President Ruto’s government attempts a turnaround in the running of not only the poorly performing state agencies, but also the government’s cash cows, effectively extending a tradition past governments have practised.
The government is already planning the privatisation of at least 10 state corporations this year, following the announcement by President Ruto after his election last year and the approval of Privatisation Bill, 2023 by Cabinet in March.
“I have created the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry so that we can look much closer to our financial markets working with our state owned enterprises and assess the ones we can bring for the public to be owners so we can share in the profits and release some resources for us to deliver on some of our infrastructure requirements instead of borrowing,” President Ruto said in September last year, soon after his election.
The Ruto government has a strategy to sell the profit-making, rich state corporations through listing at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, and overhaul the poorly performing ones through change of leadership and systems.
“Our focus is not on the sale but their remodelling to make them perform better. We want these corporations to make money and ensure we pay our farmers their dues in time,” the President said recently.
Among corporations and agencies with new leadership include Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), which has new board chair and MD. Mr Julius Migos Ogamba was appointed KenGen board chairman in March, joining Mr Abraham Samoei who is a new MD, having been appointed following the promotion of his predecessor, Rebecca Miano, to a Cabinet position. The two now lead teams making important decisions for the company with Sh49 billion revenues, Sh4.7 billion profits and over Sh500 billion in assets by last year.
Kenya Power is another state firm with new faces in the board chair and MD positions, with Mr Joseph Siror having been appointed MD about a week ago, to join Ms Joy Brenda Masinde who was appointed board chair in December. Kenya Power is a critical state firm, with the highest revenues among all govern agencies and companies—Sh157 billion—and valued at Sh329 billion in assets by 2022.
At Kenya Pipeline Company, valued at over Sh140 billion in assets, Ms Faith Boinett was appointed board chair in December, with Mr Joe Sang returning to the helm of the company as MD last month.
Other state firms that have had a change of guard include Kenya Airports Authority, Kenya Electricity Transmission Company, Kenya Ports Authority, Geothermal Development Company, National Social Security Fund, Kenya Railways and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
The Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation is Kenya’s most profitable state agency, at least based on its 2020/21 report, having made a Sh17.8 billion profit. It controls over Sh140 billion in assets. In March, Ms Hannah Muriithi was appointed the corporation’s board chairperson, while Ms Hellen Chepkwony was appointed chief executive officer less than two weeks ago.
While Kenya’s richest agency by value of assets, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), has not had either of the positions get a new holder, both CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge and Board Chairman Mohamed Nyaoga’s terms end next month. By last year, CBK had Sh1.62 trillion in assets, according to the Economic Survey 2023.
Currently, the government is in a funding and credit programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with strategies to address inefficiencies in some key state corporations through structural changes one of the main outcomes being pursued. Among the state agencies being keenly eyed in the Kenya/IMF Extended Credit Facility and Extended Fund Facility is Kenya Power and Kenya Airways.
The IMF stated in its December 2022 fourth review report under the programme that a draft ownership policy for state corporations, which would define governance structure and legal ecosystems, was under development, to be submitted to Cabinet by end of June.
