A month since he was sworn in as Kenya’s fifth President, William Ruto has spent much of his time in office reversing policies and directives by the previous administration led by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
President Ruto and his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua campaigned on a promise to empower ‘Hustlers’ and slammed the Uhuru administration over alleged State capture, claiming that selfish interests were to blame for controversial policies and projects.
Business Today looks at three key policies and directives President William Ruto has reversed within a month of taking office.
Port Operations
Among the first orders by President William Ruto was to return all cargo and port operations back to Mombasa. To drive increased use of the SGR and help repay the debt taken from China to pay it, Uhuru directed for all onward cargo arriving in the country to be evacuated via the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to the Naivasha Inland Container Depot (ICD).
The reversal by Ruto meant that importers would once again be able to clear goods at facilities of their choice including the port, licensed Container Freight Stations (CFSs) and Inland Container Depots (ICDs).
READ MORE>>KPA Implements Ruto’s Order – See New Options for Importers
Listing of Public Companies
President William Ruto has announced that the government will reduce its stakes in six to 10 ‘mature’ public companies and list them on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) within the next twelve months. The move is expected to raise much-needed cash for a government struggling to keep up with expensive debt repayments.
NSE CEO Geoffrey Odundo had advised the previous administration that it could potentially raise Ksh792.6 billion by reducing its stake in Safaricom and listed firms including KenGen, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Kenya Re, as well as fresh listing of cash-rich parastatals including Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC).
As Business Today reported, the previous administration was not keen on giving up its stakes in the companies, citing strategic and national security considerations.
READ MORE>Ruto Takes Ksh792B Offer Uhuru Rejected
Transport and Logistics Network
In one of his latest executive orders, President Ruto returned three key parastatals – Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) to their original ministries. Former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2020 signed an executive order merging the operations and management of the three agencies under the Kenya Transport and Logistics Network (KTLN).
Ruto reverted Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) and the Kenya Ports Authority to the Transport ministry while the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) returned to the Energy ministry.
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