The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a series of recommendations aimed at reforming State Corporations in a bid to streamline government operations, reduce waste, and curb excesses.
The changes were approved at the first cabinet meeting of the year, chaired by President William Ruto at State Lodge in Kakamega.
As part of these reforms, nine State Corporations will be dissolved, with their functions transferred to the relevant ministries or other State entities.
The dissolved state corporations are ; President’s Award – Kenya, Kenya Film Classification Board, Nuclear Power and Energy Agency, LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority, Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, Kenya Fish Marketing Authority, National Council for Nomadic Education, Kenya Tsetse Fly and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council and Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa.
Additionally, 16 corporations with outdated functions that could be provided by the private sector are set to be either divested or dissolved.
The reforms also include the merging of 42 State Corporations with overlapping or related mandates into 20 entities, which aims to improve operational efficiency and eliminate redundancy.
Some of the parastatals to be merged include the University Fund with the Higher Education Loans Board, the Anti-Counterfeit Authority, the Kenya Industrial Property Institute, and the Kenya Copyright Board.
Additionally, the Kenya Forest Service will merge with the Kenya Water Towers Agency, while the National Irrigation Authority will combine with the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority.
The Cabinet has also approved the merger of the Commission for University Education, the Kenya National Qualifications Authority, and the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority. Furthermore, the Kenya Rural Roads Authority and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority will be merged, as will the Kenya Tourism Board and the Tourism Research Institute.
The Export Processing Zones Authority and the Special Economic Zones Authority are also set to merge, along with the previously mentioned National Irrigation Authority and the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority.
At the same time, six State Corporations will undergo restructuring to better align their mandates and enhance performance.
In the significant changes, four public funds currently classified as State Corporations will be declassified and returned to the relevant ministries, accompanied by a strengthened governance framework.
All professional organizations currently classified as State Corporations will also be declassified and will no longer receive government budgetary allocations.
“The reforms will address operational and financial inefficiencies, enhance service delivery, and reduce reliance on the Exchequer,” stated the Cabinet dispatch.
The Cabinet explained that these reforms have become necessary due to increasing fiscal pressures resulting from constrained government resources, the demand for high-quality public services, and the rising public debt burden.
The announced reforms are a result of an assessment by the National Treasury of 271 State Corporations, excluding those designated for privatization.
