Githae must fulfil promise

• Distell had banked on privatisation of the alcohol firm before renewing its engagement but when this did not happen, it chose to go it alone.
• At the heart of the controversy was reappointment by former Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta of the commissioners without going through Parliament. His successor, Njeru Githae was more conciliatory and allowed the vetting. This is surely the direction Kenya is heading and it should be embraced by all.
• Now that we will soon have a commission in place, we hope the privatisation process including that of Kwal will kick off. Mr Githae has said the appointments will be gazetted soon. This is a welcome resolve. However, we will not tire to remind the minister that his promises are becoming just that. For weeks now, he has promised to appoint the Capital Markets Authority chief without bothering to make good his promise. This is bad for a Finance minister.

At last the Privatisation Commission board is about to be reconstituted after months of squabbling between the Treasury and Parliament. If the politicians need evidence that their ego-fuelled contest has had negative implications, the current tussle between Distell and Kwal over key franchises suffices as proof.

Distell had banked on privatisation of the alcohol firm before renewing its engagement but when this did not happen, it chose to go it alone.

At the heart of the controversy was reappointment by former Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta of the commissioners without going through Parliament.

His successor, Njeru Githae was more conciliatory and allowed the vetting. This is surely the direction Kenya is heading and it should be embraced by all.

Now that we will soon have a commission in place, we hope the privatisation process including that of Kwal will kick off. Mr Githae has said the appointments will be gazetted soon.

This is a welcome resolve. However, we will not tire to remind the minister that his promises are becoming just that. For weeks now, he has promised to appoint the Capital Markets Authority chief without bothering to make good his promise. This is bad for a Finance minister.

We hope this time round, he will find it easier acting on his promise not only on the Privatisation Commission, but also the Competition Authority. The country should never again be dragged back by inaction or indecision of a few people.