State corporations remittances to the National Treasury during the 2020/2021 financial year increased by Sh37.3 billion, a report tabled in parliament states.

The increase was a huge improvement over figures posted in the 2019/20 of Sh9.5 billion. The low figure was attributed to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which slowed the economy from the early months of 2020.

In the annual Consolidated National Government Investment Report, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani attributes the turnaround mainly to good performances by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) that posted Sh35 billion in profits up from Sh14.6 billion recorded in the previous financial year.

Kenya Power also made huge improvement, posting a Sh943 million profit in the current financial year from a loss of Sh7.5 billion in the previous year. The profit by Kenya Power was mainly attributed to cost containment measures and sealing of revenue leakages. During the review period, net assets increased marginally by 9.6 per cent from Sh2.9 billion in 2019/2020 financial year to Sh3.28 billion in 2020/2021.

In the 2020/2021 financial year, the government received a total of Sh49.5 billion from government investment in form of dividends, loans and interest payments and directors’ fees. Yatani states that during the current financial year, internally generated funds by state corporations stood at Sh67.7 billion compared with Sh.67.4 billion in 2019/2020. On the other hand, total transfers and subsidies to State Corporations in 2020/2021 was Sh37.8 billion.

The highest profits

Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) was the only corporation to post losses having lost Sh7.1 billion in the period under review.

Further, parastatals in the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Energy, and Treasury and Planning posted the highest profits at Sh35.1 billion, Sh19.3 billion and Sh15.54 billion respectively in 2020/2021 Financial Year.

According to the report as at June 30, 2021, total outstanding government guaranteed debt stood at Sh15. 7 billion, a decrease from Sh16.5 billion as at June 30, 2020. “The decrease was mainly attributed to the repayment of the guaranteed loans by KenGen and Kenya Ports Authority. During the current financial year, no call-ups were made to the National Treasury for settlement of guaranteed debt,” says Yatani.

Undischarged government loans to state corporations stood at Sh94.4 billion by the end of June this year compared with Sh93.4 billion in 2019/2020 financial year, the report shows. “The increase was attributed to loans procured by the government and on-lent to several entities among them; KenGen, and Athi Water Works Development Agency. Kenya Railways had the highest stock of undischarged loans from the government at Sh56.9 billion.

According to the report, state corporations under the Ministry of Education received the highest transfers of grants from the government at Sh61.8 billion in the current year, accounting fo