Kenya's commercial state corporations are entering a new era. The Government Owned Enterprises Act, assented to on December 5, 2025, scraps the fragmented State Corporations Act regime and shifts Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) under the Companies Act. The result: uniform governance, commercial discipline and a clear separation between profit-making and public service mandates.
For taxpayers, it means fewer bailouts. For investors, it opens the door to partial privatisation and listings.
The new Act standardises everything. All GOEs—defined as companies majority-owned by the national government, operating on commercial principles and self-funded without annual parliamentary appropriations—must be incorporated as public limited liability companies under the Companies Act. Kenya Power, KenGen and Kenya Pipeline have already transitioned. Others are following.
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