Kikuyu MP and National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah has defended the government’s plan to privatise key state corporations, arguing that the move is necessary to generate revenue for running the country.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, Ichung’wah criticised leaders opposing the policy, stating that they had failed to provide alternative solutions to the country’s financial challenges.

He maintained that privatisation is a practical and sustainable way of raising resources for essential services such as infrastructure and healthcare.

“Because when I hear people oppose the privatisation of state-owned assets to raise resources for the state to deliver services to the people, whether it is in infrastructure orhealthcare, the same people oppose raising taxes.” Ichung’wah said.

According to the majority leader, those rejecting privatisation are the same voices that resist tax increases while at the same time demanding that the government find new ways of generating revenue. He dismissed such opposition as contradictory and unhelpful in addressing the state’s fiscal constraints.

Ichung’wah further noted that privatisation would focus on profitable state corporations, which could attract higher market value and help the government reinvest in other sectors of the economy. He stressed that the process would not involve selling off struggling or dormant entities but instead strong enterprises capable of generating returns.

“Then, when they appear on TV stations because they want to look intelligent, they say, ‘Oh, the government must innovate new ways of raising money,’ which are the new ways other than raising money from the capital markets, which are the new ways other than the privatisation of such profitable companies?” he added.

Privatisation of KPC

There comes a time when there is a proposed listing of Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in 2025, President William Ruto announced during the opening of the London Stock Exchange. The move, according to the state, is part of a broader plan to privatise state-owned enterprises and deepen Kenya’s capital markets.

Ruto said the listing aims to attract both local and foreign investors by offering shares in key state assets through IPOs. The plan is supported by the Privatisation Act, 2023, which requires Cabinet approval and oversight from the Privatisation Authority.