Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro has threatened to disclose the identities of directors of Vodacom and Vodafone over concerns surrounding the government’s sale of its 15 per cent stake in Safaricom.

The MP says he knows the people in government behind the shady deal would go public with their identity unless they open the deal to scrutiny.

Nyoro said the proposed sale was shrouded in secrecy, arguing that Kenyans deserve full disclosure on the valuation process, transaction advisers and legal approvals used to arrive at the reported price of Ksh34 per share, which he claimed was grossly undervalued.

He stated that the deal, estimated at Ksh240 billion, fails to reflect Safaricom’s true market value and risks denying Kenyans a better return by excluding international bidders who could potentially raise up to Ksh150 billion more from the transaction.

Speaking to young political aspirants in Embu Town recently, the MP alleged that a group of senior government officials were plotting to acquire the stake through proxy regional buyers at a throwaway price.

“I will not remain silent when public assets are being disposed of without value for money for Kenyans,” Nyoro said.

He wants the entire transaction to be made public to prevent underhand dealings.

The legislator questioned how a company whose share price stood at Ksh45 in 2021 could now be valued at Ksh34 per share through a closed-door process, warning that the country stood to lose close to Ksh150 billion.

Nyoro further claimed that a similar scheme was being replicated in the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of Kenya Pipeline Company shares, where a small group of individuals was allegedly hiding behind so-called regional investors.

“The people in government who want to buy Kenya Pipeline shares should stop calling themselves regional buyers based in Uganda. They are well known,” he said, claiming that between 20 and 25 per cent of the shares were being quietly allocated.

Turning to education, Nyoro said Kenya has the financial capacity to fully fund free day secondary school education if the government adopts the right priorities and demonstrates political goodwill.

He explained that the government currently pays Ksh22,000 per learner annually in capitation and would only need to add Ksh6,500 per student to make day secondary education completely free, including meals.

The MP proposed a three-pronged financing model to raise the additional Ksh30 billion required annually. He suggested reducing the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NGCDF) allocation by Ksh30 million per constituency to generate about Ksh10 billion, sourcing another Ksh10 billion from counties’ equitable share, with the remaining amount provided by the national government.

He said the national government could raise its portion by cutting non-essential expenditures such as office renovations.

“This is a critical moment for Kenya to offer free day secondary education now, not tomorrow,” Nyoro said, noting that the proposal was achievable through collective sacrifice and resource pooling.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Samuel Waititu