President William Ruto on Tuesday, January 21, chaired the first Cabinet meeting of 2025 at the State Lodge in Kakamega.
During the meeting, the National Treasury assessed 271 State Corporations set to undergo a series of reforms including dissolution.
One of the key reforms includes the merger of 42 State Corporations with overlapping or related mandates into 20 entities.
Among the notable mergers, the University Fund and Higher Education Loans Board will now operate as a single entity.
Similarly, the Kenya Tourism Board and Tourism Research Institute will combine to enhance the tourism sector.
Agencies like the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute and Kenya Industrial Estates will also be unified to better support industrial development.
Additionally, nine State Corporations, whose functions can be executed within existing ministries or other entities, have been marked for dissolution.
These include the Kenya Tsetse Fly and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council, the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency, and the Kenya Film Classification Board, among others.
Their mandates will revert to relevant ministries to avoid duplication.
In recognition of outdated mandates, 16 State Corporations will either be divested or dissolved.
The reforms acknowledge that private sector players are better positioned to deliver certain services.
As such, institutions like the Scrap Metal Council, Kenya National Shipping Line and Jomo Kenyatta Foundation are among those listed for divestiture.
On the other hand, six State Corporations, namely Kenya Utalii College, Postal Corporation of Kenya, Bomas of Kenya, National Syndemic Diseases Control Council, Kenya Roads Board and National Housing Corporation, will undergo significant restructuring.
Four public funds, currently categorized as State Corporations, will be declassified and their oversight returned to the relevant ministries.
These include the Water Sector Trust Fund, National Environment Trust Fund, Sports, Arts, and Social Development Fund, and the Fish Levy Trust Fund.
Further, 13 professional bodies currently categorized as state corporations will be declassified and not be financed through budgetary allocations.
The bodies include the Hydrologists Registration Board, the Clinical Officers Authority, the Nursing Council of Kenya and the Engineers Board of Kenya.
42 state corporations that will be merged.
1. University Fund
-Higher Education Loans Board
2. Kenya Tourism Board
-Tourism Research Institute
3. Export Processing Zones Authority
-Special Economic Zones Authority
4. Anti-Counterfeit Authority
-Kenya Industrial Property Institute
-Kenya Copyright Board
5. Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute
-Kenya Industrial Estates
6. Agricultural Finance Corporation
-Commodities Fund
7. Kenya Forest Service
-Kenya Water Towers Agency
8. Agricultural Development Corporation
-Kenya Animal Genetic Resource Centre
9. National Irrigation Authority
-National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority
10. Kenya Law Reform Commission
- National Council for Law Reporting
11 .Tourism Promotion Fund
-Tourism Fund
12. Commission for University Education
-Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority
-Kenya National Qualifications Authority
13. Kenya Rural Roads Authority
-Kenya Urban Roads Authority
14. Kenya Investment Authority
-Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency
15. Water Services Regulatory Board
-Water Regulatory Authority
- Regional Center on Ground Water Resources, Education, Training and Research
16. Kenya National Trading Corporation
-National Cereals & Produce Board
17. Uwezo Fund
- Women Enterprise Fund
-Youth Enterprise Development Fund
18. Kenya Medical Research Institute
-Kenya Institute of Primate Research
19. Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service
-National Bio-Safety Authority
20. Agriculture and Food Authority.
9 state corporations proposed for dissolution
1 . Kenya Tsetse Fly and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council.
2. Kenya Fish Marketing Authority
3. Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa.
4. President’s Award – Kenya.
5. Nuclear Power and Energy Agency.
6. Kenya National Commission for UNESCO.
7. Kenya Film Classification Board.
8. National Council for Nomadic Education.
9. LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority.
16 state corporations proposed for divesture/dissolution.
1 Numerical Machining Complex.
2 Scrap Metal Council.
3 Kenya Fishing Industries Corporation.
4 Jomo Kenyatta Foundation.
5 Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya Ltd.
6 Kenya National Shipping Line.
7 School Equipment Production Unit.
8 Kenya Yearbook Editorial Board.
9 Kenya National Assurance Company.
10 Coast Development Authority.
11 Ewaso Ng’iro South Development Authority.
12 Ewaso Ng’iro North Development Authority.
13 Kerio Valley Development Authority.
14 Lake Basin Development Authority.
15 Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority.
16 Kenya Post Office Savings Bank
6 state corporations proposed for restructuring.
1 Kenya Utalii College.
2 Postal Corporation of Kenya.
3 Bomas of Kenya.
4 National Syndemic Diseases Control Council
5 Kenya Roads Board
6 National Housing Corporation
4 public funds categorized as state corporations to be declassified and reverted back to the ministry
1 Water Sector Trust Fund.
2 National Environment Trust Fund.
3 Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund.
4 Fish Levy Trust Fund
Professional bodies and welfare society that will not be financed by govt.
1 Hydrologists Registration Board
2 Clinical Officers Authority
3 Council of the Institute of Nutritionists and Dieticians
4 Kenya Health Professionals Oversight Authority
5 Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board
6 Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council
7 Public Health Officers and Technicians Council
8 Nursing Council of Kenya
9 Engineers Board of Kenya
10 Institute of Certified Investment and Financial Analysts
11 Institute of Human Resource Management
12 Kenya Institute of Supplies Management
13 Child Welfare Society of Kenya