By Peter K'opiyo
President William Ruto's first cabinet meeting of 2025 has resorted to restructuring of the State Corporations in an aim to cut down government expenditure.
The cabinet, which held its meeting at the Kakamega State Lodge, approved State Corpotations Reforms; merging 42 parastatals whose roles overlaped to 20, as it dissolved others and restructured a few in a bid to boost efficiency and cut costs.
Among the 42 State Corporations that would be merged included;Commision for University Education( CUE) which would be merged with Technical and Vocational Education And Training Authority (TVETA), Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA) and Kenya Urban RoadsAuthority (KURA), Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC)and National Cereals and Produce Board(NCPB).
Others on the merging list include University Fund and Higher Education Loans Board ( HELB), Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) and Tourism Research Institute as well as Export Processing Zones Authority which will be combined with the Special Economic Zones Authority.
Moreover, Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) would be joined with Kenya Industrial Property Institute and Kenya Copyright Board among others.
On the other hand 9 corporations have been proposed for dissolution as it seems they have lived their time and are no longer fit to exist.
Among these include Kenya Tsetse fly and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council, President's Award-Kenya, Nuclear Power and Energy Agency, Kenya Film and Classification Board ( KFCB) , National Council for Nomadic Education among others.
16 other corporations that have been proposed for diversture are; Srap Metal Council, Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, Kenya Yearbook Editorial Board, Coast Development Authority, Lake Basin Development Authority, Ewaso Nyiro North and Ewaso Nyiro South Development Authorities.
However, there are corporations that survived the shocker but will be subjected to restructuring. These are the Kenya Utalii College, National Housing Corporation, Bomas of Kenya, Kenya Roads Board, Postal Corporation of Kenya and the National Syndemic Diseases Control Council.
In the resolution, the cabinet also approved that public funds categorised as state corporations be declassified and reverted to parent ministries.
These funds included, Water Sector Trust Fund, Fish Levy Trust Fund, Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund as well as the National Environment Trust Fund.
With the proposed resolutions, professional bodies and welfare societies will not be financed by the exchequer. The 13 bodies include Child Welfare Society of Kenya, Nursing Council of Kenya, Engineers Board of Kenya, Institute for Human Resource Management, Kenya Institute of Supplies Management and the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board.
Also in the list are Public Health Officers and Technicians Council, Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council, Council of the Institute of Nutritionists and Dieticians and the Hydrologists Registration Board.
This is expected to play a pivotal role in reducing cost of government expenditure as the Kenya Kwanza Government aim to cut its coat according to its size.
However, citizens are still questioning if this would save the country due to the extravagance by state and public officers witnessed in recent times.
Nevertheless,the cabinet has proposed to grant Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) system exemptions to all African countries, except Somalia and Libya citing security concerns