Attorney General Justin Muturi has instructed the Registrar of Companies to provide Members of Parliament with the names of the beneficial owners of Independent Power Producing (IPP) companies that have entered into contracts with Kenya Power.
In a meeting with the National Assembly’s Energy Committee, Muturi emphasized that there is no valid reason for withholding information about the owners of IPPs, especially when MPs are investigating the soaring costs of electricity.
He cited the Companies Act of 2015, which requires that beneficial owners of companies, whether local or foreign, must provide their details during the registration process. He added, “Information about the owners of these IPPs should be available at the Registrar of Companies.”
The committee had encountered difficulties in obtaining the names of the beneficial owners of IPPs. An official from the Registrar of Companies explained that these companies were registered prior to the enactment of the 2015 Companies Act.
However, Muturi clarified that the office should disclose the ownership details, regardless of when these firms were registered. He stated, “You cannot say, for example, that my firm was registered under the old Constitution so I cannot be governed under the new Constitution. I direct the office to provide you with the details you need.”
The Registrar of Companies, located at the Attorney General’s Chambers in Nairobi, is responsible for registering businesses and companies.
Committee chair Vincent Kawaya expressed suspicions that individuals in the Ministry of Energy and government offices may hold directorship roles in these companies. He asserted, “We have no option but to unearth the owners of these companies.”
A presidential task force’s investigation revealed that the expensive electricity prices were partially due to costly Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) that Kenya Power had signed with IPPs. The high cost of electricity has had widespread repercussions on the cost of living and business operations.
In July, the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) urged the government to cancel all Power Purchase Agreements with IPPs and negotiate more favorable terms. Francis Atwoli, COTU Secretary General, argued that IPPs needed to be regulated to address the issue of high electricity costs. He pointed out that the costs agreed upon by IPPs in their deals with the government were often higher than the cost of electricity produced by state-owned firms like KenGen.
