In a surprising turn of events, Deputy President Hon Riggy G was noticeably absent during a pivotal statehouse meeting. This meeting, convened by President William Ruto, occurred earlier in the morning. Interestingly, the second in command was not featured in any of the photographs shared by the statehouse on this particular morning.
As reported by The Star, Emmanuel Taalam, the communications expert at the Statehouse, provided some insights into the meeting’s agenda. He stated that the meeting was primarily aimed at devising a framework. This framework is expected to guide the process during the eagerly awaited privatization of state corporations. Notably, these corporations have been incurring losses despite the Government’s substantial investment in them.
Emmanuel Talam, the press secretary of the State House, further elaborated on the meeting’s focus in his conversation with The Star. He mentioned that the meeting would concentrate on budget cuts and the planned privatization of certain institutions.
In a significant announcement made in November last year, Ruto declared that his government was prepared to privatize 35 state companies. As he described, these companies were “trapped in government bureaucracy.” This move was seen as an effort to enhance productivity, following a change to laws. This was reported by The Star Digital.
Despite these developments, speculations and reports are suggesting that Kenyans might witness intense political activity in the forthcoming days. This speculation has been fueled by DP Gachagua’s recent appeal to reconcile with Uhuru Kenyatta.
The revised law aims to push up the private sector’s participation in the economy, the presidency said at the time of the signing.
As a result, the Cabinet last month approved the sale of seven more State-owned enterprises following a meeting chaired by President Ruto at State House in Nairobi, bringing the total number of entities set to be privatized to 17.
According to the cabinet, the move was expected to stimulate the expansion of the country’s hospitality industry and grow individual units through private-sector investment.