Former KEMSA chair Irungu Nyakera warns against Kenya Pipeline sale

Kemsa Board of Management Chairman Irungu Nyakeraduring a press conference on the Organizations turn around reports on the turn round reports at Embakasi Offices, on Wednesday, February, 21, 2024. [File, Standard]

Former KEMSA chairperson Irungu Nyakera has cautioned the government against its plan to sell a majority stake in the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC).

Nyakera, referencing the 2007 privatisation of Telkom, when the government sold a 51 per cent stake to France Télécom for Sh26 billion, only for it to be bought back at a loss, stated: “KPC is not an ordinary parastatal,” he said. “It controls the transportation and storage of petroleum products in Kenya. Selling it in a hurry poses immense risks, including ceding control of the country’s energy backbone.”