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{
    "id": 1346289,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1346289/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 181,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung'wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "We are talking about privatisation and divestiture of Government investments. Officers of the National Treasury who are in charge of investments should look into that. How can the Government secure our investments in Uchumi Supermarkets? They should ensure that we do not lose value for money by having the bank auction Uchumi Lang’ata Hyper land at a throwaway price. Bank officials and auctioneers will collude. Staff of the bank end up buying properties being auctioned through collusion with auctioneers. If the loan amount is Ksh165 million, they will say that the reserve price is Ksh180 million to cover their loan amount, interest and auctioneer's fees. That is what usually happens. I am certain that the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) could give the National Treasury leeway to get into an arrangement with the bank so that the National Treasury can pay off the loan and gets the first charge, and the receiver liquidates that asset and recovers his money. Alternatively, they can jointly sell it, but we must not allow the bank to auction that property on its own. I have seen a lot of talk in the media about privatisation. I recently spoke about somebody being financially illiterate on some vernacular radio station, and they took offence. If you are financially illiterate, you are financially illiterate. I am also illiterate in some respects. For instance, I am broadcast illiterate and, therefore, I will not seek to broadcast anything in a studio because I do not know how to do it. But I am financially literate. I have heard many people speak about how the Government is selling off assets. People are not looking at the Privatisation Act, which we passed about three or four months ago. That Act makes it very clear how the Government will divest from investments it made in the past, whether it is through initial public offerings (IPOs), getting into joint ventures with strategic investors or outright sale of some assets. There is a lot of propaganda out there. I heard them say that the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) is being sold. About 90 per cent of tenants at the KICC are parliamentary officers. Parliament is paying peanuts because it is a Government-to- Government arrangement. However, it is a prime location in the Central Business District (CBD). You can imagine the amount of money the Government would generate if the KICC were to be leased to a hotel chain with private sector expertise to run conferencing facilities and hotels. That is better than waiting for parliamentary officers to get small corner offices at the KICC, where Parliament pays peanuts. Government ministries never pay for those offices because it is a Government-to-Government arrangement. I am certain that the KICC owes money to other Government agencies. The KICC owes parking fees to the County Government of Nairobi and electricity fees to Kenya Power."
}