Ruto Changes Tune On Privatizing KICC 'So That It Makes Money'

President William Ruto on Sunday, December 17 revealed that his government will turn the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) into a profitable parastatal rather than put it up for sale, a move which sparked controversy.

Speaking during a joint media roundtable interview at State House, Nairobi, the President explained that KICC should be able to self-regulate and not just be a favourite for Kenyans taking photographs as it consumes public funds, given that it is situated at the heart of the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD).

Ruto spoke passionately about KICC and gave his account of his visit to the iconic building when he first set foot in Nairobi.

"Many people are very sentimental about KICC. We said we wanted to privatize KICC. KICC is an iconic building, it is the centre of the city.

"When I came first to Nairobi, I came to that photograph place where we are holding KICC at the top. KICC was not built for photographs. It was built as a national asset," he narrated in part.

Ruto further revealed that as of now, KICC is valued at Ksh30 billion, yet the government managed to make Ksh29 million from the facility this year, a drastic decrease from Ksh40 million last year, something he blamed on mismanagement.

Accordingly, the core reason investments into the running of the building was not having returns, a matter which at one point forced Ruto to spend Ksh1.8 billion to convert it into a usable premise for the Africa Climate Summit held this year.

"Instead of having KICC as an office block…the whole of KICC has offices…and they are paying nothing, why don’t we transform KICC to become the international conference centre that it was built to be? If it is worth Ksh30 billion, we should be getting Ksh3 billion a year…we are getting Ksh29 million. This is an asset of Kenya," he went on.

Ruto expressed his plans to convert KICC into a money-making parastatal attractive enough to host events, a change of perception among organisers who had stayed away from the premises owing to its deplorable facilities, including toilets, a matter that triggered a ripple effect leading to the closure of popular hotels within the capital.

"KICC is not being sold to anybody, KICC is not being taken anywhere, KICC will remain there. Those who want to take photographs can continue taking photographs, but for heaven’s sake, allow me to get a strategic investor and I’m not going to do it at night," he added.

On Wednesday, December 13, he addressed plans to privatise KICC among 10 parastatals, claiming that some of the enlisted companies were receiving billions of shillings from the government to save themselves from collapsing.

He referenced a 10-year-old government report which suggested the disposal of the government assets, complaining that the government was not raking in growth and profit despite being bankrolled by the state.

"So some of those things we are going to make decisions and by the way, a report was already done saying that these 150 companies should be privatised because what they are doing can be done by the private sector. The private sector will give us more value out of them," he addressed while giving his opening remark at the Diaspora Investment Conference at KICC.