The Cabinet on Monday, January 15, proposed a new bill seeking to divide Kenya Railways Corporation into three departments in a bid to enhance Kenya’s position as a transport hub.
According to a dispatch shared by State House, the bill named the Railway Amendment Bill 2024 will be aimed at initiating new ways of running railways and separating the business of freight, commuter and land development.
In the meeting held at State House, Nairobi, cabinet members led by President William Ruto observed that Kenya Railways has vast tracts of land, majority of which lay idle.
As such, the Ruto-led cabinet resolved to maximize on the land’s use fronting the idea of developing railway cities.
The railway cities, the dispatch notes, will be similar to the proposed Nairobi Railway City with the government looking to extend the plan to several other towns in Kenya.
“To fortify Kenya as a regional logistics hub, the Cabinet approved the Railway Amendment Bill 2024 that aims at initiating new ways of running railways and separating the business of freight, commuter and land development,” the dispatch read in part.
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“Kenya Railways is a big landowner in Kenya and most of the land is lying idle. This will be used to develop railway cities as is happening in Nairobi and will be extended to other major towns.”
The Bill proposes that the private sector, investors and even county governments run the railway cities while Kenya Railways will play the role of a regulator.
Cabinet approves new PPP guidelines
Members of Cabinet also approved a set of regulations set to be used in efforts to create a stable environment for public and private entities involved in PPPs and fostering a robust investment environment.
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The regulations, according to State House, will provide clear guidelines for planning, procurement, management and monitoring PPP projects, in line with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation agenda.
In addition, the guidelines will incorporate environmental and climate change principles.
Consequently, the regulations will be forwarded to Parliament for approval.
At the same time, the cabinet secretaries approved the Treasury Single Account (TSA) for national and county governments which State House said will simplify government banking, create visibility of government resources and increase transparency in government cash management.
