The government has issued new directives to guide the operations of state corporations affected by ongoing reforms involving mergers, dissolutions, and restructuring.
In a letter dated May 16, 2025, Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei outlined the measures being taken to support the implementation of the reforms. The letter, which was addressed to the Attorney General and all Cabinet Secretaries, emphasized that a Cabinet-approved moratorium is now in place.
The moratorium prohibits any changes to staff organization, salary structures, or the rollout of new capital projects in affected state corporations. It also stops the recruitment or contract renewal of Chief Executive Officers and any officers serving under contract terms once their current tenure ends.
“All ongoing recruitment processes in any cadre are to be halted immediately,” Koskei stated. “Any implementation or approval of new human resource policies, personal emoluments and benefits, staff reorganization, or capital projects is hereby suspended.”
The reforms will see a total of 42 state corporations merged into 20 entities. Another 25 will be dissolved, with their remaining functions returned to their parent ministries. In addition, six corporations will undergo restructuring to align their mandates with performance expectations.
Four public funds will be declassified and their responsibilities handed back to the relevant ministries. Thirteen professional bodies currently designated as state corporations will also be declassified.
Among the state corporations that have been merged as part of the government’s reform plan is the University Fund, which has now been integrated with the Higher Education Loans Board. In the tourism sector, the Kenya Tourism Board has been merged with the Tourism Research Institute. The Export Processing Zones Authority has been brought together with the Special Economic Zones Authority to streamline investment promotion in designated zones.
Additionally, the Anti-Counterfeit Authority has been merged with the Kenya Industrial Property Institute, while the Kenya Copyright Board, the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute, and Kenya Industrial Estates have been unified to enhance coordination in intellectual property and industrial development.
In agriculture and natural resources, the Agricultural Finance Corporation has merged with the Commodities Fund to strengthen agricultural credit systems. The Kenya Forest Service and the Kenya Water Towers Agency are now operating as a single entity to manage the country’s forest resources more effectively. Furthermore, the Agricultural Development Corporation has been merged with the Kenya Animal Genetic Resource Centre to consolidate efforts in livestock breeding and genetics.
In the legal and infrastructural sectors, the Kenya Law Reform Commission has been merged with the National Council for Law Reporting to enhance legal research and publication, while the Kenya Rural Roads Authority and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority have been merged to streamline road infrastructure management.
The Tourism Promotion Fund and the Tourism Fund are now a single entity, aiming to better coordinate tourism development. The Kenya National Trading Corporation has also been merged with the National Cereals and Produce Board to improve food distribution and national grain reserves. In the health research sector, the Kenya Medical Research Institute has been integrated with the Kenya Institute of Primate Research. Similarly, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service and the National Biosafety Authority have been merged, with their roles now falling under the Agriculture and Food Authority.
At the same time, several agencies have been dissolved, and their functions transferred back to the relevant ministries. These include the Kenya Tsetse Fly and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Council, the Kenya Fish Marketing Authority, and the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA). Other entities dissolved are the President’s Award – Kenya, the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency, the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, the Kenya Film Classification Board, the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya (NACONEK), and the LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority.