| dc.description.abstract | Privatization of public enterprises is increasingly
becoming a topical issue in many developed and developing
countries. Privatization in many developing countries,
has been initiated as a donor conditionality for various
socio-political and economic reasons. Kenya is one such
country that has adopted this privatization strategy.
However, the process of implementing the privatization
of public enterprises has been rather slow.
The central purpose of this study therefore, is to
investigate the factors accounting for the slowness
on the part of the government in implementing the
privatization of public enterprises. The major
proposition forwarded is that, clientelism plays a role
in affecting privatization of public enterprises. In
other words, there is a relationship between clientelism
and the privatization of public enterprises. Using
clientelism, in particular the patron-client approach as
a conceptual framework for analysis, it has been pointed
out first and foremost that clientelism affects
privatization of public enterprises in developing
countries. Drawing examples from various developing
countries of Asia, Latin America and Africa, it has been
demonstrated that there is a relationship between
clientelism and privatization, with regard to political
patronage gains and losses. Where political patrons
perceive political patronage losses accruing from the
privatization of certain public enterprises, then their
governments are not willing to privatize such public
enterprises. Where political pat rons perceive no such
losses, then their governments are willing to privatize
such public enterprises.
With regard to Kenya, it is demonstrated that
through clientelism, public enterprises are used for
political patronage purposes. Through clientelism,
political patrons in Kenya have been able to gain direct
and indirect access to public enterprise patronage
resources, which are thereafter dispensed to clients in
return for political support. Poitical patons use
public enterprise resources to reward or punish clients,
in return for political support. Public enterprises are
therefore sources of political power for political
patrons. It is in this context that those political
patrons responsible for the implementation of
privatization, especially the politicians and political
bureaucrats, are unwilling to facilitate the
implementation of privatization for they perceive major
political patronage losses accruing from privatization,
which will subsequently affect their political power.
This is particularly so for those public enterprises that
command vast resources of political patronage. Hence,
the unwillingness or lack of political commitment on the
part of the government to privatize such public
enterprises.
The minor prorosition forwarded in this study is
that profit performance of an enterprise also affects its
privatization. Though the theoretical proposition is
that governments are not willing to privatize those
public enterprises that make a profit, as profit is an
important source of revenue, it has nevertheless been
demonstrated that in Kenya, the emphasis by the
government is to privatize those public enterprises that
make profit.
In this regard,
it has been recommended that a State
Corporations Services Commission be established to reduce
political interference in the appointment of public
enterprise chief executives. With reference to the
privatization process, it has been recommended that a
"non political" privatization committee, legal measures,
compensation schemes and an enabling political
environment be established to minimise political
interference and facilitate a transparent process. | en |
