| dc.description.abstract | Public enterprise is a common feature of many economies
throughout the world. It is a formula that has been applied in
capitalist, socialist and mixed economies.
The case of developing countries reveals that, after the
euphoria of political independence, the exigencies of economic
independence called for increased state intervention in public
enterprises through which the nationals would control the economy.
In both the developed and developing countries, Kenya
included, this intervention has been motivated by practical
necessity, economic development, defence and strategic
considerations, and political philosophy.
However, in Kenya, like in other parts of the World, public
enterprises are generally inefficient and unprofitable, and have
therefore to rely on Government subsidy to keep them operating.
This thesis examines the management of public enterprises i~
Kenya with specific reference to Kenya Meat Commission. It
identifies the major reasons for the inept performance of public
enterprises and suggests that divestiture might be a good and
"final" managerial solution to the problem. On Kenya Meat Commission, the study looks at the management structure and the management functions vis-a-vis its performance. The conclusion is that, apart from the general explanations identified as causing poor public enterprise performance, the failure of the Commission's Management to observe the principal management functions led to its undoing.
The thesis therefore points out that, the Commission, as is
the current World trend with public enterprises, should either be
liquidated or privatised for better performance. The divestiture
would also save the economy the burden of supporting a nonviable
public enterprise | |
