A parliamentary committee and the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) have rejected a request by local transporters to have multinational companies operating in the country compelled to give them at least 60 percent of transportation contracts.
Acting on the regulator’s advice, the National Assembly’s Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Committee dismissed the bid by the Kenya Transporters Association (KTA), which argued that its members receive minimal business from multinationals in Kenya.
CAK told MPs that enforcing a quota would distort fair competition and breach the Competition Act, and therefore should not be permitted. Enforcement of a fixed quota system would be inconsistent with prevailing competition laws and Kenya’s trade liberalisation commitments,’ the committee, chaired by Ikolomani MP Bernard Shinali, said in its report.
KTA, a lobby for local freighters, had petitioned Parliament to sanction several multinationals for allegedly favouring foreign transporters at the expense of Kenyan firms.
It argued that global companies rely on pre-established contracts used across their markets, thereby bypassing local operators and undermining fair competition, contrary to local laws.
The association claimed local freighters own 90 percent of trucks but receive only about 30 percent of logistics contracts issued by multinationals, with the bulk going to foreign transporters who control a small share of the fleet.
It also accused international firms of price fixing, predatory pricing, exclusive agreements, barriers to entry, and opaque conduct.
CAK was asked to investigate these allegations but found no evidence to support them. MPs separately questioned several multinational firms, including Kenya Breweries Limited, British American Tobacco, Nestlé, Unilever, Coca-Cola, and GlaxoSmithKline, all of which submitted contractor lists showing that most of their logistics providers are local.
The regulator reviewed contracts awarded to both local and foreign transporters and found no significant differences or exclusionary terms as alleged by the locals’ lobby in their petition.
‘There was no evidence found to establish that the multinationals were discriminating against local transporters, leading to market foreclosure,’ the committee said.
‘While local transporters raised legitimate concerns about limited access to logistics contracts and perceived preferential treatment of multinational peers, the evidence provided did not substantiate claims of deliberate discrimination or exclusionary conduct.’
Although MPs declined the 60 percent quota, Parliament is currently considering a separate bill that would require foreign firms to source at least 60 percent of their inputs locally and ensure that at least 80 percent of their employees are Kenyan citizens.
Existing regulations also require public entities to give preferential treatment to local suppliers, including sourcing consumable products from Kenyan firms.
KTA did not respond to requests for comment on the committee’s decision.