Residents of Kisumu and Baringo counties have voiced their apprehensions regarding the proposed divestment of a 15 per cent government stake in Safaricom to Vodacom and have called for stringent measures to ensure that the proceeds are not misused.
During a public participation forums about the transaction, sentiments were divided about if the government should sale public shares in the most profitable company in Kenya or not.
A major worry that the respondents highlighted was the possibility of some of the money being used for purposes other than those indicated in the sale.
They requested that the funds be totally protected and that the specific development projects to be funded by the proceeds should be made public so that they can also exercise their oversight role.
When the following years budget is being prepared, they warned that the proceeds could be used to supplement the general government budget and therefore not be subject to public scrutiny.
Others maintained that the government should not be dumping Safaricom shares which they fear could be diverted to other public expenditure.
In addition, some questioned the rationale behind selling a company making tens of billions of shillings in profit annually while other government entities continue to drain the exchequer.
Residents also challenged politicians not to play politics with the divestiture process saying the decision should be based on economic rationale, transparency, and the long, term public interest.
