State agencies, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), and Kenya Pipeline Corporation (KPC) have been transfered from the Ministry of Transport to the National Treasury.
This means, Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani will now assume mandate over the corporations as part of the government's restructuring plan to improve the country's transport system.
A further Ksh49.8 billion will be injected into the National Treasury's budget in the 2021/22 fiscal year, raising it from the current Ksh118.2 billion to Ksh167.8 billion.
"In addition, the network will allow for centralisation of operations and would not cause disruption to the legal structuring of the state entities. The three entities have since been transferred to the National Treasury.
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"The department has been tasked to strengthen its internal capacity by securing the necessary technical skills and competencies needed to effectively oversee investment portfolio management, and the setting up, monitoring and reporting of the financial performance of commercial state corporations," Yatani stated.
According to the 2021/22 financial year budget proposal tabled before parliament, KRC will be allocated Ksh32.4 billion to refurbish old rails and wagons.
Over the last few years, the President Uhuru Kenyatta government has poured money into the rehabilitation of the transport sector in the country.
Projects including the Ksh64 billion Nairobi Expressway-connecting the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and James Gichuru Road in Westlands, the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) have all been developed under the President Kenyatta regime through the Ministry of Transport.
Following the transfer, the National Treasury will now handle more than the financial aspect of these projects. This will include oversight and tendering.
