Category: Business Daily

A Laikipia apparel manufacturer and I were reflecting on the pathways of moving from ideas to winning an election, to implementation and results.

We noted how ideas must be synthesised into a governor candidate’s manifesto, canvassed with the citizens, and, upon winning, translated into the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP). An annual slice of the latter becomes the annual development plan, which, when funded through appropriation, is the county’s annual budget.

Most CIDPs have resource requirements that far exceed the annual county resource envelope. This calls for serious prioritisation and additional resource mobilisation. We noted, however, that when all that is done, the most critical element remains. Execution.

Reliant on the civil service, execution moves a county from the great plans to results. It does so through accountability, clear communication, and operational, technology-enabled infrastructure. Effective execution requires consistent daily actions and creating a culture of ownership. Only then can you overcome the high failure rate of strategic initiatives.

It is the same in companies. Execution is the disciplined process that turns strategic vision into reality by aligning resources, processes and people with goals. It starts by establishing a non-negotiable performance culture where individuals take ownership of their role in the plan. They do so by connecting daily tasks, projects, and resources to high-level strategic objectives.

Work often takes place in a not-so-visible layer of conversations, commitments, and decisions. In addition, it is what gets measured that gets done. Therefore, you must track key performance indicators, monitor progress, and make adjustments in real-time.

All this, while striking a balance between innovation and control. That means managing the tension between pursuing new opportunities and maintaining operational stability.

Strategy execution is the most significant challenge for leadership. Failure is common. The Harvard Business Review estimates 67 percent, while Kaplan and Norton say 90 percent of all strategic plans are never fully implemented or fail to meet their targets.

The root causes of failure include too many priorities, avoiding difficult tasks, and neglecting to connect individual roles to overall goals.

The solutions are to focus on fewer, critical goals; utilise short-term, iterative sprints (such as 90-day plans), and foster a disciplined, collaborative environment.

There are several established models for successful strategy execution. Snell and Carrig’s four A’s framework focuses on alignment (everyone working toward the same goal), ability (having the right talent and skills), architecture (structures and processes that enable work), and agility (the capacity to adapt to change).

My favourite is Franklin Covey’s four disciplines of execution. Focusing on permanent behavioural changes rather than just better planning, it is a well-known formula for executing strategy amid the urgent day-to-day activities.

It proposes that you focus on the wildly important, prioritising one or two critical goals. Then, act on lead measures-high-leverage actions that predict success. Keep a scoreboard so that everyone knows if they are making headway in real-time. Then hold regular, brief sessions to report on progress and commitments.

His first point acknowledges that the more you try to do, the less you actually achieve. Therefore, focus on the wildly important goals (WIG).

A WIG is one that, if not achieved, makes all other accomplishments secondary. Focus on one or two WIGs at a time, and be specific. For example, ‘increase daily cattle weight gain from 0.5 to 1.5 kilogrammes/day by March 30’.

Secondly, act on the lead measures. This is the discipline of leverage. Shift focus from results to the high-leverage activities that drive those results. Unfortunately, many of us focus on lag measures such as revenue, profit, or weight loss. By the time you see them, they have already happened and cannot be changed.

Lead measures are activities that are predictive of, and influence, the lag measures. If your New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, then measure daily caloric intake or hours of exercise, rather than weighing yourself constantly.

Keeping a scoreboard helps everyone stay engaged, ensuring they know if they are performing.

Keep it simple so that everyone can quickly tell the direction of travel. It is best to let the team design and update the scoreboard themselves. It fosters a sense of ownership.

Have a weekly, but brief (30 minutes) meeting, focused solely on the wildly important goal. At the meeting, report on last week’s commitments, review the scoreboard, and make new commitments for the upcoming week to move the lead measures. This cadence of accountability creates a rhythm that sustains performance.

The High Court has rejected an application seeking to hold an Ecobank Kenya manager liable for releasing funds belonging to a plane leasing firm facing insolvency.

The court declined to hold the branch manager at Ecobank Towers liable, saying there was evidence to show that the funds belonging to DAC Aviation (EA) Limited were released to a third party, pursuant to a court order.

The Kenyan aircraft leasing company based at Wilson Airport was placed under receivership over a debt of Sh1.3 billion owed to an Irish aviation firm, Amra Leasing Ltd.

The receiver manager, PVRA Rao, submitted that the bank violated the Insolvency Act by releasing funds after the commencement of the liquidation. Mr Rao wanted the court to declare the release of the company’s funds was unlawful, and the manager should be personally liable for any loss occasioned.

The court noted that upon liquidation, the company’s assets vest in the liquidator, and that executions commenced thereafter are, as a general rule, prohibited under Section 430 of the Insolvency Act.

Restraining orders

However, the court said the statutory protection must be balanced against the settled principle that court orders are binding and must be obeyed unless and until set aside.

According to the court, there was evidence demonstrating that the bank released the funds pursuant to court order and there were no restraining orders.

‘There is no evidence of bad faith, collusion, or unilateral dissipation of funds by the Respondent. The court is persuaded that although the effect of compliance may have been detrimental to the liquidation estate, the Respondent’s actions do not amount to unlawful interference with the Liquidator’s mandate to justify restitutionary or punitive orders,’ said the court.

The court said to hold otherwise would expose third parties to liability for obeying subsisting orders, an ‘outcome inimical to legal certainty’.

The court equally dismissed an application by Emmanuel Anassis, a former director of DAC Aviation, seeking orders to access the firm’s entire business and financial records in possession of the receiver manager.

Mr Anassis submitted that as a former director, beneficial owner, and personal guarantor, he has a legitimate interest in the affairs of the company and in the manner in which the receivership and liquidation were conducted.

Mr Rao opposed the application saying Mr Anassis has no locus standi, contending that he was not a party to the insolvency proceedings and had not sought or obtained leave to join the case.

The receiver manager added that the order he was seeking has since been overtaken since the property was transferred to a third party on February 24, 2025.

The court said in the ruling that any allegations of misconduct must be pursued through appropriate proceedings grounded in evidence and proper standing.

‘The Court accordingly finds that the substantive reliefs sought in the application dated 5th May 2025 are both unsupported by standing and incapable of enforcement,’ said the court.

Amra Leasing sued DAC Aviation before a UK court and obtained a judgment in 2020. The Irish firm moved to Kenya and the judgment was recognized by the High Court.

Circle Gas, the UK-based parent company of the Kenyan cooking gas distributor M-Gas, aims to raise more than $27 million (Sh3.4 billion) from carbon markets by the end of June, as it engages the Kenyan government to secure approval for the sell.

The company has 12 subsidiaries across nine markets, including Kenya and Tanzania, and has secured an offer for carbon credit purchases worth $27 million, per financial disclosures filed in the UK. Of this, $8.5 million (Sh1 billion) had been received by the end of December 2024.

Circle Gas seeks additional external funding and is negotiating to upgrade its existing carbon credits into the Paris Agreement’s ‘Letter of Authorisation’ (LoA) category to raise money from higher-value international carbon markets.

An LoA allows carbon credits generated in Kenya to be transferred abroad under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, with the host country adjusting its national carbon accounting accordingly.

‘The group has secured an offer for future carbon credit certificate purchases with a remaining value of $27 million, of this, $8.5 million has been received to date,’ Circle Gas says in the disclosures seen by the Business Daily.

M-Gas has so far secured a Letter of Approval from the Kenyan government. Late last month, the company said the planned carbon project ‘is now progressing toward the next stage of the authorisation process.’

Circle Gas reckons carbon credit sales under the conditions of an LoA are at a significantly higher value than voluntary carbon credit sales, ‘with the potential to raise additional funding of at least $9 million based on the number of accredited carbon credits held by the Group at the reporting date.’

Safaricom holds an 18.96 percent stake in Circle Gas, and both the telco’s current CEO, Peter Ndegwa, and Michael Joseph, its former chief executive, sit on the UK firm’s board. The Kenyan government owns 35 percent of Safaricom.

Circle Gas’s 12 subsidiaries include M-Gas Limited and Circle Gas Limited in Kenya, as well as M-Gas Solutions Limited and M-Gas Resources Limited in Tanzania. In Kenya, M-Gas sells liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) under a ‘pay-as-you-cook’ model, targeting low-income households.

M-Gas’s cylinders – provided by oil giant TotalEnergies – are fitted with smart meters that track gas usage and automatically disconnect the supply once the paid-for amount is consumed. When gas runs low, the system alerts the firm, which delivers a refilled cylinder to the customer’s home at no extra charge.

M-Gas’s push comes amid heightened scrutiny of carbon credit projects in Kenya following the recent collapse of clean-cooking startup Koko Networks.

Koko shut down on January 30 after it failed to secure a government Letter of Authorisation despite a 2024 investment framework that would have allowed it to sell carbon credits. This was a week after M-Gas announced it had secured its Letter of Approval.

Koko had subsidised bioethanol stoves and fuel for over 1.5 million households, relying on carbon credits to recover losses, but the government said approving its request would have allowed a single firm to exhaust Kenya’s share of global compliance markets.

The startup invested about $300 million (Sh38.7 billion) in Kenya and is now under administration.

Circle Gas plans to use the carbon credit strategy to raise additional external funding for growth. The group reported an operating loss of $24.2 million for the year ended December 2024, down from $33.3 million in the year ended December 2023.

A funding gap for healthcare services offered by low-level health facilities is forcing Kenyans to pay out-of-pocket or seek services at big hospitals, a new study has shown.

The study by Nairobi-based think-tank, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), shows that shortfalls in State funding of level two and three hospitals have left patients seeking treatment at high-level facilities and private hospitals.

IEA also says some private hospitals are demanding cash payments from patients due to cases of delayed reimbursement of previous bills, leaving Kenyans either paying out-of-pocket or seeking minor treatment at huge public hospitals.

‘Given the difficulty or challenges in claim reimbursement, people who are seeking services from private health facilities are being asked to pay. There are cases where people have no choice. Those who have money have to go back into their pocket,’ IEA’s Programmes Coordinator John Mutua said.

IEA assessed the Social Health Authority’s (SHA) design and implementation gaps, revealing frequent financing shortfalls where the government is expected to fund health facilities or finance subsidies for poor Kenyans to access health services.

SHA manages three distinct funds: the Primary Healthcare Fund (PHC), Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and Emergency, Chronic, and Critical Illness Fund (ECCIF), each addressing different health needs.

The IEA, however, faults the government for funding shortfalls in PHF and ECCIF, which cover health services for poor households and chronic illnesses.

In the latest budget documents, the Ministry of Health projects a Sh14.3 billion shortfall in allocation to cover the health needs of more than a million people, a Sh35 billion shortfall for the government-funded PHC, and only Sh8 billion out of a requirement of Sh15.8 billion budget for the ECCIF allocated.

The Ministry reported that over the three years to June 2025, a million Kenyans accessed government health insurance subsidies out of the targeted 1.5 million Kenyans, with the shortfall attributed to underfunding by the State.

This has been witnessed even as pending bills related to the SHA hit Sh35 billion as of June 2025, with 90 percent of the debt linked to failure by the government to release the funds.

In the current fiscal year and the year starting July 2026, the Ministry of Health says the government has not allocated funds to support health insurance for nearly 90 percent of poor persons targeted under the program.

Out of a budget requirement of Sh14.7 billion in the 2025/26 and 2026/27 fiscal years, the government has allocated Sh1.7 billion, budget documents show.

The IEA Study proposes that the government should ring-fence funding to the PHC to go only to public hospitals, observing that the majority of Kenyans in rural areas use the facilities to get health services.

The think-tank is also pushing for the government to onboard high contribution groups, such as disciplined forces to SHA, to boost its gross premiums, while coming up with a working strategy to get more Kenyans in the informal sector contributing.

‘We have 80 percent of the population working in the informal sector, and you designed a system that is very analogous to Obamacare, the Swiss system, which relies heavily on people with regular incomes. That balance is not available, and there’s a risk, but this system might collapse unless some significant adjustments are made,’ said Kwame Owino, the IEA Chief Executive Officer.

The Institute reckons that packages offered by the State under the SHA remain largely ambitious and expensive, and has called for a review to rationalise them to a level the government can afford.

For many job seekers, the assumption is that the key to landing that enviable position lies in having the perfect CV. Some even pay to have theirs professionally done. Yet, while it matters, the best candidates usually do not have the best of resumes.

BDLife spoke to a number of CEOs to understand how they make these decisions when hiring. What do they look out for? What do they distrust? They talk about CVs that lie, gut feelings that save organisations, and dangers of mistaking style for substance.

Karaya Mokaya, managing partner at SKM Africa LLP, a professional services firm, says most high performers do not have great CVs. If a recruiter’s focus is on that, they may not pick them.

‘For extremely high performers with technical depth, most of the time they don’t do a very good job on their resume. But when you engage them one-on-one and are patient, you realise that they just didn’t do well on their resume. So if you just look at their resumes, you might not do justice to them compared to other resumes in terms of the detail of what they have been able to accomplish over time,’ he says.

He says his top hiring trick is seeking out very open-minded people. ‘These are candidates who engage freely, open up their perspectives, and place context around the scenarios they describe. And of course, guys who have a good sense of ownership, both for accomplishments in their path to career life, as well as mistakes. Any aspect that comes out as too self-defensive is, for me, quite a red flag.’ he says. A non-obvious signal that has become his most reliable predictor of a great hire is the ability to back strengths with real scenarios.

‘If you say you’re good at problem-solving, show me a problem you solved. If you say you can lead, show me a moment where your leadership helped overcome a challenge. Candidates who can do that convincingly tend to be strong hires,’ he says.

Does he hire to neutralise his blind spots or to amplify what he already does exceptionally well?

‘I would like to hire for both. My strength is in tax and business advisory, and I may pick someone based on attitude, problem-solving, and leadership. But I cannot be able to challenge them on the technical aspect of their career. But also, we hire specifically to amplify that which we do because you are looking at succession, people to take over who are better than you,’ he says, adding, ‘but it is naïve to place too much value on experience.’

‘We overrate experience and end up denying opportunities to people with better potential, attitude, and agility. We also overvalue certain employers on a CV, which creates positive bias. You hire someone from a big firm and later realise they lack depth. Today, I don’t place a premium on big names. Some candidates with fewer years of experience can reach the required level within three or four months because of their learning ability, coachability, attitude, aggression, and team spirit.’

Would he pick the smartest person in the room or the best student? ‘The smartest person in the room, because agility comes from being smart. You could be best in class, but best in class could also mean that you have a better memory or just know how to memorise. When circumstances change, smart people adapt better because they apply themselves differently,’ he says.

Felix Kimanthi, CEO of Olympia Holdings, says he ‘used to think that when somebody does not attach all the documents, they were very careless.’

‘But now I’m thinking if somebody applied for a job and they forgot to attach even a CV, they may have limited resources, which is why they’re actually applying for a job. Maybe they couldn’t even afford stable internet. I trace them. Or even somebody who shows up for the interview late within five or 10 minutes, give them a chance. Perhaps they even had to walk half the journey to get there,’ he says.

His hiring trick, he says, is giving jobseekers a first, second, and third interview, ‘so that just in case there is something that people missed out on the first or second can be caught on the third interview.’

What is an X-factor trait that is unquantifiable but essential in a potential candidate?

‘When people are asked to talk about themselves, too often they just repeat what’s on their CV. But we’ve already seen that. Instead, share the parts that can’t be quantified, your background, the values you hold dear, and what you truly believe in. I want to understand whether someone is just drifting through life or intentionally living it,’ he says.

Does he hire to complement his strengths or to replace his weaknesses? ‘Since my position is about overseeing, the bias is to tend to pay attention to the things that I know best. I hire, to some extent, somebody who has my strengths. But also hire somebody who has what you don’t have, so that you’re able to go to the next level and expose your blind side.’

Pius Muchiri, CEO of Nabo Capital, an investment company, says hiring the wrong person is more consequential than firing the wrong one.

‘It is very difficult to correct it. Also, because we are human beings, I tend to differentiate performance and people. Even if you are an underperformer, you are still a person; don’t attack the person, attack the performance.’

How much does gut feeling play in hiring? ’50 percent. People can masquerade; the brightest people can hack your hiring process, but do not diminish your intuition,’ he says.

He is not quick to hire. He will be hesitant when the story is not connecting or when there is no story.

‘If you’ve worked for 20 years and have no highs or lows, you’ve just been doing tasks. Also, people tend to be very real on social media without knowing. If you are in front of me as a professional, but on social media, you are insulting the president, something is wrong, because if you can insult authority, publicly, that is a telltale sign of who you are. A good human may not be your top performer, but they offer longevity, trust, and reliability. You can leave them with the company, and it will still run. Those guys are hard to find.’

What kind of intelligence is constantly overestimated in potential hires? I ask. ‘If you can see through people’s potential, you can make some of the best hires. If you can cut through the noise of good speakers and Ivy League kind of presentations and see through the potential of a person, you can hire a gem. Some of the best people we have hired have come from the ground, like James Mworia, CEO of Centum, who began as an intern. As a leader, you need the intuition to believe in people before they believe in themselves.’

Jackson Muli, CEO of Kenya Orient Life Assurance believes a CV does not always reflect delivery. He remembers an incident that changed the way he hires people.

‘In 2023, when the IFRS 17 was introduced in the market, the positions of actuaries became very competitive. Experienced actuaries were leaving the country, so we shortened our recruitment process, handling final interviews ourselves, to secure the right talent faster,’ he says.

His main focus? ‘I focus on attitude and behaviour, imagining the candidate already in the role. I assess how they would respond to real challenges in that position.’

What kind of intelligence do you consistently overestimate in candidates? Sometimes what’s on a CV doesn’t reflect the real person. That’s why a background check on a candidate’s past performance is so important.

A prospective employee may come in showcasing their skills and experience across multiple organisations, but it’s also a wake-up call to see why they move, how they handle transitions, and the manner in which they leave previous roles. Some people burn bridges wherever they go, and those individuals may not bring long-term value because their mindset is already ‘I’m in transit; I’m moving on.’

Read: What Kenya employers think about soft skills

How much does gut feeling play in hiring? ‘About 30 percent. There are times when a team conducting interviews feels a candidate is the perfect fit. But at the final stage, my gut may signal otherwise-something isn’t quite adding up. In such cases, I request additional information, which can sometimes shift the perspective of the rest of the committee.’

What is the hesitation he learned to take seriously when deciding whether to hire or fire?

‘Character. How someone shows respect, both upwards and downwards, matters a lot. You’re not just joining a company with laptops and systems; you’re joining a team of people. How will you fit in with your seniors and juniors? Sometimes that’s where gut feeling comes in, and I may need extra information about their background. I need to be sure this person’s character will blend well with the rest of the team,’ he says.

Kenya’s economy is projected to grow by five percent in 2026 on stable inflation, lower interest rates, improved access to credit, and a stable shilling, analysts at KCB Investment Bank (KCBIB) said on Tuesday.

The rate of expansion of gross domestic product (GDP)- a measure of all economic activities by the government, companies, and individuals- will be marginally faster than the estimated 4.9 percent in 2025.

The analysts at KCB Group’s investment banking unit said the economy is transitioning from stabilisation to cautious recovery, supported by stronger macro-economic fundamentals, but warned that high debt levels and fiscal pressures will continue to limit faster growth.

‘Kenya enters 2026 with improved macro stability, but fiscal discipline will determine how far the recovery can run,’ they wrote in their 2025 Economic Review and 2026 Outlook report. ‘2025 was about stabilisation, while 2026 is about controlled optimism, but with fiscal handcuffs on.’

The economic outlook by the KCB unit mirrors that of the World Bank at 4.9 percent, but is lower than the 5.3 percent projected by Diamond Trust Bank’s research analysts.

KCBIB, the brokerage and advisory services arm for KCB, said inflation stability would continue to be a key driver of growth.

Headline inflation- a measure of average prices of goods and services compared with the previous year- averaged 4.1 percent in 2025, remaining within the Central Bank of Kenya’s target range of 2.5 to 7.5 percent, and easing pressure on household budgets and business input costs.

Stable prices, together with a relatively steady shilling against the US dollar and adequate foreign exchange reserves(currently at nearly $12.39 billion or 5.3 months of import cover), have allowed the Central Bank of Kenya to cut the key lending rate to support growth, improve liquidity conditions, and restore confidence across financial markets and the broader economy.

The CBK’s Monetary Policy Committee cut its policy rate from 13 percent in mid-2024 to 8.75 percent on February 10,2026 , marking a 10th consecutive cut-a move KCBIB said has begun to feed through to lower lending rates and improved access to credit.

Private sector credit growth recovered to five percent year-on-year at the close of 2025, the analysts say.

The improving credit conditions have been supported by reduced borrowing costs, improved policy transmission, and the adoption of risk-based pricing frameworks, while asset quality improved modestly as non-performing loans edged lower to 16.4 percent from recent peaks of 17.6 percent in November 2024.

The growth in 2025 was broad-based, supported by improved performance in agriculture, a rebound in construction, strong growth in mining, and steady expansion across services, including trade, transport, accommodation, finance, and real estate.

Looking ahead to 2026, the analysts expect growth to remain supported by accommodative monetary policy, easing yields, and stable foreign exchange conditions, with inflation projected to stay anchored at around 4.5 percent.

KCBIB cautioned that the scope for further interest-rate cuts is limited, with monetary policy expected to shift to a neutral-to-accommodative stance as authorities balance growth support with fiscal sustainability and external stability.

‘Short-term rates are likely to trend lower, with the CBR expected to close 2026 in the 8.0 percent to 8.5 percent range. Investor preference is expected to shift toward longer-dated instruments, which offer more attractive risk-adjusted returns and duration benefits,’ they wrote in the report.

Kenya’s national health information systems face potential disruption following the withdrawal of external funding that supports critical digital infrastructure.

An analysis by the University of Nairobi’s Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (CEMA) shows that the Sh513 million allocated by the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) for the 2024-25 financial year to maintain these platforms is ending, with no domestic budget in place to replace it.

Health information systems are digital platforms that collect, store, manage, and transmit medical data across healthcare facilities.

They enable tracking of patient records, disease surveillance, immunisation coverage, and service delivery.

The systems include Electronic Medical Records (EMR) used in facilities nationwide, Kenya Health Information System (KHIS2), Chanjo KE for immunisation tracking, Damu KE for blood services management, and HIV data platforms.

They depend on donor funding for maintenance, upgrades, staff training, and cybersecurity support.

‘External funding is used to pay for installation and maintenance of information systems and generally strengthens health system building blocks (governance, financing, and service delivery),’ read the analysis.

According to CEMA, most donor support for these systems operates off-budget, giving the State limited visibility into actual operational costs.

‘Health information systems, including EMRs, KHIS2, Chanjo KE, Damu KE, and HIV data platforms, also depend heavily on external funding, with PEPFAR allocation of around Sh513 million for maintenance and support in the financial year 2024-25,’ CEMA said.

The EMR requires constant maintenance to function. Without paid technical support, server problems could prevent clinics from accessing patient histories, blocking doctors from retrieving viral load results for HIV patients and pharmacists from verifying medication histories.

Similarly, KHIS2, which aggregates health data from thousands of facilities daily, could face operational challenges when database management and backup system contracts expire, a situation that would force health facilities to rely on paper reporting while compromising the digital infrastructure that converts reports into national surveillance data needed for disease outbreak detection.

In addition, Chanjo KE provides real-time data, allowing health officials to identify children missing vaccinations. It coordinates blood supply between donation centres and hospitals, enabling facilities to locate available blood supplies and blood banks to track inventory and expiration dates.

Meanwhile, HIV programme monitoring, which tracks hundreds of thousands of people on antiretroviral treatment, also faces significant disruption. It is through this programme that specialists monitor treatment adherence, appointment attendance, viral load testing, and treatment failure risk across the country’s HIV care network.

However, the government cannot immediately allocate replacement funds without detailed cost assessments required to determine exact transition costs, a process that has not yet been done.

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the privatisation of big national companies-a subject so consequential for our nation’s economic trajectory, especially its role in strengthening Kenya’s competitiveness and unlocking value in our State-owned enterprises (SOEs).

At the heart of this discussion is the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), in some quarters considered the ‘family silver’ given its strategic positioning in Kenya’s economic landscape. Currently, KPC is undergoing a legally mandated process toward partial public ownership and listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

Global experience over the past three decades indicates that privatisation has increasingly shifted from full divestments toward more structured mixed-ownership approaches.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) notes that such approaches often involve partial listings, phased divestments, and the retention by the state of significant minority or majority stakes where there is a continued public-interest rationale.

While concerns have been raised about potential loss of national control or distributional outcomes, others view privatisation as a mechanism to address operational inefficiencies. In this context, there is a need for clear public information on the nature of privatisation, its implementation, and its implications for Kenya’s economy and consumers.

Privatisation should not be understood as a wholesale divestment of public assets, nor as a remedy for all structural challenges.

It generally involves the selective transfer of ownership or management rights in commercial public enterprises to private or public markets, conducted within defined legal and regulatory frameworks.

In Kenya, this process is governed by the Privatisation Act 2025, which establishes requirements relating to transparency, valuation, oversight, and investor protection. The framework is intended to ensure that privatisation processes are structured, accountable, and guided by economic considerations and public-interest objectives.

Evidence from OECD and emerging economies suggests that, when supported by strong institutions, effective regulation, transparency, and sound corporate governance, such approaches can be associated with improvements in efficiency, competition, and consumer outcomes.

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) play an important role in Kenya’s economy. However, as is the case with many large public institutions globally, they may face structural constraints related to bureaucratic processes and limited access to capital.

Policy initiatives such as partial public listings are intended to introduce market-based discipline, support operational efficiency, and expand access to managerial and technical expertise.

Kenya has prior experience with this approach, with companies including Safaricom, KCB Group, and KenGen having undergone public listings and subsequently operated as publicly traded entities.

Listing public enterprises on the NSE also provides a mechanism for wider participation in the ownership of national assets. Public offerings allow individual investors, pension funds, and domestic institutional investors to acquire shareholdings in strategic enterprises.

This broadening of ownership can contribute to financial inclusion and the development of domestic capital markets, which are relevant to long-term economic growth and financial stability.

From a fiscal standpoint, structured privatisation may reduce pressure on public finances by enabling the reallocation of resources toward priority areas such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure. When appropriately designed, such approaches aim to balance efficiency in the use of public resources with continued oversight of strategically important national assets.

The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) is a central component of the petroleum logistics network, operating storage and pipeline infrastructure linking Mombasa to inland markets and generating substantial revenues.

While KPC remains profitable under State ownership, various assessments and stakeholder inputs have identified areas of potential improvement, including the need for system upgrades, capacity expansion and diversification.

The proposed KPC initial public offering and retention of a government shareholding seek to provide access to additional capital and expertise to support these objectives, rather than transfer control over strategic national infrastructure. The stated aim is to strengthen operational performance, service reliability, and its overall contribution to the economy.

Privatisation should be considered a tool of public economic management rather than a partisan issue.

When implemented within a clear legal and regulatory framework, it can support competitiveness, unlock value, and expand opportunities for broader economic participation.

Privatisation provides a mechanism for citizens to acquire stakes in State-owned enterprises, strengthening these companies, deepening domestic capital markets, and contributing to the effective management of public resources.

Over time, KenGen has operated under a mixed-ownership structure, with the government retaining a majority stake alongside minority participation by private investors.

As a result, the firm has expanded renewable energy capacity and accessed a range of development financing options. This experience is often cited as an example of how mixed-ownership models, when combined with established governance and accountability frameworks, can support operational expansion and investment in ways that may be more challenging under fully public ownership structures.

Addressing concerns and ensuring accountability

Critics of privatisation often raise important questions regarding beneficiaries, asset valuation, and protections for workers and consumers. Such concerns are central to effective policymaking.

Kenya’s privatisation framework addresses these issues through established valuation standards, public disclosure requirements, multi-layered oversight, and mechanisms for stakeholder participation.

In the case of KPC, certain aspects of the process have been legally challenged and are subject to judicial review, reflecting the country’s constitutional commitment to due process and transparency.

When marriages end, disputes over assets often centre on visible wealth, such as the marital home, land, cars or businesses. Rarely does the fight turn to pensions, and when it does, the outcomes aren’t quite what you would expect.

In an Eldoret High Court ruling made last year, RCK vs DKK Matrimonial cause 004 2022, the court denied prayers by the applicant to lay claim to the respondent’s pension upon dissolution of the marriage.

‘Regarding the Pension provided to the Respondent through his former employer’s Provident Fund, I agree with the Respondent’s Counsel that the Applicant cannot claim to be a beneficiary thereof. Counsel urged that the Applicant is herself a teacher by profession with a Master’s Degree and is equally pensionable. Counsel therefore, understandably wondered what will happen to her own pension when she retires.

There is merit in this submission. Counsel also raised the further credible argument that the Respondent is already retired with no other source of income, hence it would be unjust for his retirement benefits to be made part of matrimonial property. I agree. In any event, what contribution, within the meaning in Section 6 of the Matrimonial Property Act, could the Applicant have made to the Pension?’

Although Kenya’s Constitution and the Matrimonial Property Act frame how assets are divided at the end of a marriage, pension savings occupy a distinct legal space governed by the Retirement Benefits Act (RBA). This separate statutory regime is central to why pension benefits are rarely divisible in divorce, even though they were accumulated during the marriage.

The Constitution states that spouses have equal rights during marriage and at its dissolution. However, according to constitutional lawyers, equality does not mean sharing all your assets.

This is implemented through legislation such as the Matrimonial Property Act, which emphasises ownership and contribution rather than entitlement.

According to the Matrimonial Property Act, matrimonial property includes the marital home, household goods and other movable or immovable property jointly owned and acquired during the marriage.

Although pensions fall within the broad category of movable property, they are treated differently due to how they are created and protected under pension law. Legal experts argue that pension contributions are personal, even if they are made during marriage.

Victor Olao, a constitutional lawyer, says pension deductions are individual by design.

“Pensions are personal savings. Whether it’s a private scheme, the NSSF scheme, or any other scheme, whatever arrangement you have for your pension is a personal and individual contribution; it’s a personal savings.” Being married does not mean that you stop being you,’ he says.

He argues that marriage does not dissolve personal identity or convert individual financial arrangements into communal property.

He cautions that classifying pensions as marital property would blur important legal boundaries.

“That would be like saying what’s in your bank account is matrimonial property,” says Mr Olao.

The lawyer adds that pension contributions come directly from personal earnings or individual financial resources, not communal funds.

“Remember, the source of your contribution is your earnings from work or other financial resources. It is not communal or joint unless you have a corporate plan for you and your family.”

The RBA, which governs all registered pension schemes in Kenya, reinforces this. According to the Act, pension benefits are funds held in trust for the exclusive benefit of an identified member. Once contributions are remitted to a pension scheme, the law considers those funds to belong to the member immediately, subjecting them to the scheme’s rules.

The benefits are not treated as general property capable of assignment, attachment, or division while the identified member is alive.

According to Mr Olao, the law recognises the specificity of pension ownership from the moment of enrollment.

“Your partner cannot claim your bank account, which is why the member number, contributor, and pensioner are all specific,” he says. “You need your identity card and PIN. During enrollment, it goes directly to your individual details. So, unless it is specifically a joint scheme, pensions cannot form part of matrimonial property.”

Confusion often arises during divorce proceedings when spouses seek to trace contributions made during the marriage.

“When you say ‘me and so-and-so bought this home,’ you demonstrate your cash trail. My money came from here; this is the lump sum that I took, so I have a share of this land or house. That completes its purpose. Now, whatever is on the table is the house, not the pension,’ says Mr Olao.

At that point, the court focuses on the property acquired, not the origin of the funds.

He adds that, once funds are invested in a joint asset, their source becomes legally irrelevant. “Where you got it from is no longer an issue, whether it was a pension or if you robbed someone. It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s just proof of contribution,” he says.

The same principle applies when one spouse takes out a loan to fund a joint investment. The liability for the loan remains personal, but the contribution is recognised. For example, if pension withdrawals are used to buy a marital home, the pension ceases to be subject to division.

Consequently, the RBA does not recognise divorce as a trigger event for the payment or division of an individual’s pension benefits. Pension trustees are only permitted to release benefits in the case of retirement, withdrawal under prescribed conditions, exit from employment, or the member’s death.

In the event of death, for example, benefits may be paid to the nominated beneficiaries or dependents. While the member is alive, payments are restricted to that individual.

The Act also stipulates that pension benefits are not part of a member’s estate for succession purposes until they are payable. This statutory protection is why pension administrators cannot act on divorce decrees as they do on probate or succession orders.

Even when courts recognise spousal contributions, pension trustees are legally bound by the RBA and cannot redirect benefits to a former spouse.

Ken Monyoncho, director at Enwealth Financial Services, says the distinction between matrimonial and pension law is intentional.

“Pension fund contributions are personal contributions. It cannot be given to someone who has not contributed,’ he says. “We don’t pay third parties. We can only pay a third party in the event of death, not divorce.’

According to the RBA, pension benefits are also non-assignable. They cannot be charged, attached, or used as security for obligations outside of the exceptions set out by law. Divorce-related claims fall outside of these exceptions and shield pension savings from division during marital dissolution.

“The moment money enters the pension scheme, it belongs to the member,” says Mr Monyoncho.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is entering a new operational phase as companies begin testing systems designed not just to respond to prompts but to plan tasks, make decisions and execute actions continuously within business environments.

While most organisations have so far adopted AI as a productivity layer, the model is now shifting as agentic AI systems are developed to pursue defined goals over time and coordinate multiple actions rather than stop after completing single tasks.

Alongside this shift, research into artificial general intelligence (AGI) is expanding beyond narrow task optimisation toward systems capable of transferring knowledge across domains, a trajectory that could fundamentally alter how digital work is organised.

Global market intelligence firm The Business Research Company notes that one of the main factors propelling the AGI market is the rising investment in advanced AI research.

‘These investments focus on developing AI systems that perform complex tasks, learn from varied data, and exhibit reasoning and problem-solving on par with human cognition,’ notes the firm in a report.

‘Governments, private companies and academic institutions are investing heavily to build AI that can operate autonomously, improve decision-making, and foster innovation across multiple industries.’

Tech analysts observe that the transition is being driven by practical pressures, as businesses seek faster decision cycles, lower operational costs, and automation that extends beyond execution into planning and coordination.

According to Anthony Muiyuro, East Africa’s regional director at Syntura, the defining change is not intelligence itself but continuity of action within structured environments.

‘Today’s AI tools are largely reactive. They respond to prompts, execute narrow tasks and stop. Agentic systems, on the other hand, represent a shift toward proactive, goal-driven AI systems that can plan, make decisions, use tools, learn from outcomes, and act continuously with limited human intervention,’ says Mr Muiyuro.

The techie observes that the shift has become commercially viable due to a combination of stronger models, lower computing costs, and rising demand from firms seeking automation that delivers measurable efficiency gains.

Capabilities that signal movement toward autonomous reasoning include multi-step planning, goal prioritisation where systems decide what matters most under constraints, self-correction without retraining, as well as the ability to select and use software tools independently.

US-based Tesla billionaire Elon Musk has previously predicted that AGI will surpass total human intelligence by 2030, describing AI and robotics as a “supersonic tsunami” leading to a “technological singularity,” where AI iterates beyond human comprehension.

“Humans are currently in the ‘biological bootloader’ phase of digital superintelligence. This supersonic tsunami-like change no longer allows us to press the pause button,” said Mr Musk in a past interview.

Today, early versions of these capabilities already exist, but deployment remains limited as organisations test reliability and attempt to manage risks associated with autonomy at scale.

Industry specialists note that the constraint is less about technical performance and more about predictability, governance, and accountability when systems are allowed to act without continuous human oversight.

‘Expect narrow autonomous agents at scale within two to three years, with broader reasoning systems following more cautiously,’ predicts Mr Muiyuro.

As a result, early adoption is currently concentrated in roles that are knowledge-heavy, repeatable, and fully digital, where outcomes can be clearly defined and measured.

These include customer support operations, software maintenance, IT infrastructure management, compliance checks, and structured financial reporting functions, among others.

Such roles provide controlled environments in which objectives are explicit, data flows are logged, and errors can be detected before cascading through wider systems.

In contrast, roles that rely heavily on judgment, trust, or social context remain more insulated from near-term automation.

Services such as healthcare delivery, caregiving, diplomacy, and governance continue to require human discretion that is difficult to encode into autonomous systems. Rather than eliminating jobs, Nr Muiyuro says, agentic AI is expected to recompose roles by shifting routine execution to machines while concentrating human effort on oversight, exception handling, and strategic judgment.

While this restructuring creates productivity gains, it also introduces operational risks that differ from those associated with earlier automation technologies. One foreseeable risk is goal misalignment, where systems optimise defined objectives that do not fully reflect organisational intent or ethical boundaries.

Others include opacity, as autonomous decision paths can become difficult to audit or explain, with error amplification presenting further concerns, as small mistakes could propagate rapidly when systems operate continuously across interconnected processes.

Over-delegation and enhanced security exposure have also been cited as emerging risks, with humans potentially losing situational awareness as responsibility shifts incrementally toward autonomous systems.

Agentic systems often require access to sensitive data, credentials, and internal tools to function effectively, which, if compromised, could provide attackers with deeper access than traditional software applications.

Mr Muiyuro says governance frameworks have not kept pace with technological capability, particularly in emerging markets where regulatory capacity remains uneven.

‘While technical safeguards are improving, governance frameworks are lagging – especially in emerging markets. Regulation, board oversight, and accountability models are still catching up to the reality of autonomous systems operating inside businesses,’ he says.

‘The key challenge is not whether agentic AI will arrive, but whether organisations adopt it deliberately, responsibly, and with human control firmly in the loop.’

Globally, firms deploying agentic AI are doing so cautiously, often limiting decision authority and requiring human approval at critical stages.

Most deployments begin with narrow use cases, parallel human supervision, and extensive logging to evaluate performance and risk exposure.