Commission Will Be a Political Tool.

(From The Nation (Kenya) - AAGM)

Byline: Jaindi Kisero

Why create a parastatal to sell off other parastatals? What Parliament passed last week in the name of a new Privatisation Bill is a complete misnomer.

Consider this. If President Kibaki assents to what Parliament passed, we are going to have a completely new body called a Privatisation Commission to become the ultimate authority on matters to do with the sale of parastatals.

It is this body which will decide which parastatal is to be sold and which one is to remain the property of the State.

Privatisation has become a generic term for many types of activities. Today, you hear of terms such as "out-sourcing", "concessioning" and "private sector participation options (PSPs)".

At KenGen, the Government has decided to privatise through the sale of shares at the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

At the Kenya Power and Lighting Company, the …