The Kenyan Cabinet has officially approved the sale of shares in the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), a major state-owned enterprise, as part of an ongoing privatisation agenda.
This decision, reached during a Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday, July 29, marks a significant step toward listing KPC on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), allowing ordinary Kenyans and private investors to buy shares and gain part-ownership of the company.
This move aligns with President William Ruto’s administration’s broader push to reduce government spending on parastatals and shift the responsibility of driving growth and innovation to the private sector.
According to the Cabinet’s statement, transferring partial ownership of KPC to private hands will allow industry professionals and investors to take the lead in boosting performance, increasing efficiency, and introducing innovation across operations.
Although KPC has historically been a profitable entity, the government acknowledged that state management has sometimes limited its growth potential.
By opening up the company to private capital and skilled business leadership, the Cabinet believes KPC can modernise, expand regionally, and become a leading energy and logistics player across East Africa.
The decision mirrors previous success stories such as KenGen, which, after partial privatisation, experienced notable financial growth and regional expansion.
Citing KenGen as a model, the Cabinet emphasized that privatising KPC would not only increase the company’s competitiveness but also support its ambitions to venture into new sectors like Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and expand its services beyond Kenyan borders.
President Ruto had earlier signaled the potential move on July 23, hinting that KPC could be listed on the NSE by September 2025. He stated that public investment in KPC would help the company raise essential capital for future projects, including diversification and regional infrastructure expansion.
Besides KPC, several other state-owned enterprises are lined up for privatisation, including the Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB), Rivatex East Africa, the National Oil Corporation (NOC), and the New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (NKCC).
These changes are part of the government’s long-term plan to scale down public ownership in commercial ventures and allow market forces to play a more significant role in growing these institutions.
Alongside the KPC divestment, the Cabinet also approved the rollout of Phase III of the Last Mile Connectivity Project. This new phase will bring electricity to an additional 180,500 households across the country, improving access to power and supporting the government’s universal electrification goals.
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