Ruto Orders Parastatal Bosses to Surrender 80% of Profits to Govt 

President William Ruto on Tuesday, March 26, ordered all parastatal bosses to surrender a minimum of 80% of their profits to the National Treasury. 

The head of state noted that the executive would henceforth be directing parastatals on how to utilise the 20% left after the majority of the profits are surrendered to the Treasury. 

The top executives at regulatory agencies, such as the NTSA, will be required to surrender 90% of their revenues to the National Treasury. 

"Now that the economy has stabilised, we cannot continue accumulating debt. Borrowing will only lead us down the cliff. The time for loss-making parastatals is over,” 

The President noted that the directive was part of his strategy to revamp the economy, by maximizing revenues and taming losses that have historically been associated with government-owned enterprises. 

He further directed the parastatal heads to cut their recurrent expenditure budgets by 30% as a way of managing wastage in parastatals. 

Parastatals that consistently turn a loss will be shut down, the President added. 

“There will be no exceptions. Everyone must comply. It is illogical. We need to close down some of these loss-making parastatals. We have to end overcapacity,” he noted. 

Ruto made the announcement after holding a meeting with the CEOs of state-owned corporations at State House Nairobi. 

The development came a few months after the government announced it was divesting from 11 parastatals by putting them up for privatisation. 

The 11 institutions included the Kenya Pipeline Company, the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), the National Oil Corporation, and the New KCC. 

Other parastatals listed for sale included the Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB), the Kenya Seed Company Limited, Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers Limited, Rivatex East Africa Limited, Numerical Machining Complex, Mwea Rice Mills, and Western Kenya Rice Mills Limited.

The decision drew criticism from a section of stakeholders who felt that some of the listed institutions were already profitable or had great strategic value to the country.