Kitui Rural MP Hon. David Mwalika Mboni has called on locals to rally behind the controversial Privatization Bill, 2025, assuring them that the government will safeguard Kenyan interests even as it seeks to sell stakes in public enterprises.
The consultative forum, held in Kitui and hosted by Hon. Mwalika, brought together the National Assembly Committee on Finance and National Planning and the Committee on Public Debt and Privatization to collect views from the public. The Bill, sponsored by Leader of Majority Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah, seeks to repeal and re-enact Kenya’s privatization framework to improve efficiency and profitability of state-owned entities.
Mwalika assured residents that privatization would not lead to a wholesale sell-out to foreign investors:
“If 60 per cent of a parastatal is being sold, only 20 per cent will go to foreigners while 80 per cent remains with Kenyans. That is how we’ll ensure our country’s wealth stays in our hands,” he said.
Locals expressed mixed feelings about the Bill. Some backed privatization as a way to revive struggling entities and create jobs, while others worried that high share prices and restrictive minimum investments would lock out ordinary Kenyans.
“The only problem we have with privatization is affordability. If shares are too costly or the minimum is set too high, we will be left out,” said Saada Swale, a businesswoman from Kitui.
Experts also warned against allowing single buyers to acquire entire firms, citing past cases like Mumias Sugar and Webuye Paper Mills, where mismanagement after privatization hurt local economies.
Despite Mwalika’s reassurances, political insiders whispered to Channel 15 News that the legislator—elected on a Wiper Party ticket—may be working “chini maji” with the government, given his strong defense of a Bill championed by the administration.
The public participation exercise moves to Makueni County tomorrow as the delegation continues collecting views on the proposed law.
