Cabinet Secretary Freezes Operations of Six State Agencies[LIST]

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has ordered the boards of six regional development authorities (RDAs) to suspend all promotions, new recruitment, new appointments, and implementation of new projects effective immediately

In the new directive, the Coast Development Authority, Ewaso Ng’iro North Development Authority (ENNDA), Ewaso Ng’iro South Development Authority (ENSDA), Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA), Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA), and the Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority (TARDA) will cease their key operations.

This was necessitated by the reorganisation of the cash-strapped entities as the government pushes forward its parastatal reform program by the Cabinet in January.

RDAs have been subject to state review since March 2024 to align them with the new Constitution that provides for developed functions.

The Kenyan Constitution of 2010 provided for fresh functions of RDAs amidst the onset of devolution.

The review is aimed at assessing the impact, roles, and effectiveness of RDAs to be aligned with the activities of counties to spur development.

This comes after a Cabinet meeting  where a resolution was reached to merge 42 state corporations into 20 parastatals, citing the move as a measure to enhance operational efficiency and eliminate redundancy.

The decision would also see the dissolution of some State corporations with their functions reassigned to relevant ministries or other state entities.

In the new directive, the six RDAs were listed as corporations set for divestiture to the private sector or to be dissolved altogether.

”These reforms have been necessitated by increasing fiscal pressures arising from constrained government resources, the demand for high-quality public services, and the growing public debt burden,” the dispatch read in part.

“Many State Corporations have struggled to meet their contractual and statutory obligations, leading to an accumulation of pending bills amounting to KSh94.4 billion as of March 31, 2024,” added the dispatch.

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