By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya , June 14, 2026 - In my mother tongue there is a saying that goes by,
"Mũkũngũi ũrĩa ũkũraga kĩongo gĩake ndũmenyaga atĩ hinya ũrĩa ũramũheaga ũcio ndũhomaga atekwa."
I know it sounds more like a tongue twister, but allow me to translate it loosely; it means
"The vulture that boasts of its massive plumage does not know that the power enabling it to grow those feathers does not come from itself alone."
Our elders did not create proverbs for decoration, they created them as warnings.
Warnings against pride, greed, and against forgetting where blessings come from.
The vulture sees its wings and believes they are entirely its own achievement.
It forgets the ecosystem that sustained it, it forgets the earth beneath it, and it forgets the creatures whose existence makes its own survival possible.
It forgets that power borrowed from many sources can easily disappear when those sources are exhausted.
And nature offers another lesson.
A hungry animal eats because it must survive.
A greedy animal eats because it has forgotten the difference between need and appetite.
Dogs are known to continue eating long after their hunger has been satisfied. Some eat until they become sick. Some vomit and return to the food again.
The problem is no longer hunger, but in the consumption itself.
And perhaps that is the question Kenya should be asking today.
Are we solving economic problems?
Or have we developed an appetite that can no longer distinguish between necessity and excess?
A few days ago, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi stood before Parliament and presented the 2026/27 Budget, and the numbers were staggering.
Government revenue is projected at approximately KSh3.6 trillion.
Government expenditure is projected at KSh4.8 trillion.
And this results in a fiscal deficit exceeding KSh1.1 trillion.
To bridge that gap, the government plans domestic borrowing of more than KSh1 trillion, external borrowing, Public-Private Partnerships, debt-for-development swaps, debt-for-food swaps, Samurai Bonds in Japan and Panda Bonds in China.
Presenting the debt management strategy, Mbadi told Parliament,
"Debt is a tool for development, but only when managed prudently and sustainably."
He further revealed that the government is exploring new financing instruments and alternative capital markets in order to diversify funding sources and reduce reliance on traditional borrowing channels.
On paper, these proposals appear sensible.
Every government needs financing, every economy needs investment, and every nation must find ways to fund development.
But there comes a point when citizens must ask a more uncomfortable question.
What exactly are we financing?
And what are we giving away in return?
Over the past three years, Kenya has embarked on one of the most ambitious privatization and restructuring programmes in its history.
The Privatisation Act of 2023 created the legal framework for transferring state-owned enterprises into private ownership through share sales, concessions, strategic investors and public listings.
The Government-Owned Enterprises Act of 2025 accelerated that process by requiring many commercial state corporations to reconstitute themselves into public limited liability companies.
Supporters describe the reforms as necessary modernization, while critics view the same as the gradual disposal of public assets.
The truth may lie somewhere in between.
Yet the concern among ordinary Kenyans is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Gazette notices issued this year established new governance structures, reconstituted boards and advanced the transition of multiple state enterprises.
The government has repeatedly argued that private sector participation will improve efficiency, unlock investment and reduce the burden on taxpayers.
Again, these arguments have merit.
State corporations have long been criticized for inefficiency, corruption and poor management.
Reform is necessary.
Accountability is necessary.
Professional management is necessary.
But ownership is also important.
And the terms ownership means, determining who receives dividends, who influences decisions. And finally t determines who sits at the table when strategic decisions affecting a nation are made.
And that is where many Kenyans are becoming uneasy.
Take the Kenya Pipeline Company for instance.
For decades it was viewed as a strategic national asset.
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Today, following its restructuring and listing process, ownership is no longer exclusively in the hands of the state.
Supporters see investment, while others see dilution of control.
The debate surrounding KPC raises larger questions.
If strategic infrastructure can be partially privatized today, what happens tomorrow?
What becomes of other entities identified for restructuring?
What becomes of transport corridors? Logistics infrastructure? Strategic energy assets? and enterprises that generations of taxpayers helped build?
These questions are no longer theoretical.
They sit at the heart of Kenya's economic future.
The concerns deepened further during the recent budget presentation when Mbadi proposed amendments exempting foreign investors from obtaining KRA PINs solely for purposes of opening CDSC accounts and trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
The Treasury argues that the move will improve the attractiveness of Kenya's capital markets and encourage foreign participation.
Technically, that is correct: foreign capital can deepen markets, foreign investors can increase liquidity, and foreign participation can improve valuations.
But the ordinary Kenyan sees a different picture.
For years, citizens have been told to comply with increasingly stringent tax obligations.
Businesses face mounting compliance requirements.
Informal traders navigate complex regulations.
Yet at the same time, barriers for foreign investors continue to fall.
The message, whether intended or not, becomes difficult to ignore.
Many begin to wonder whether access to Kenya's economic future is becoming easier for outsiders than for the people who built it.
This is not an argument against foreign investment.
Kenya needs investment, it needs partnerships, and its in need of global capital.
But the issue is balance.
It is important to note that a nation that owns everything may stagnate, but a nation that sells everything may surrender its future.
History teaches that countries rarely lose sovereignty in a single dramatic event.
It happens gradually.
A concession here.
A sale there.
A restructuring elsewhere.
A strategic asset transferred.
A boardroom decision influenced.
A public institution transformed.
And individually, each decision appears reasonable.
Collectively, they can alter the relationship between citizens and their national wealth.
That is why stewardship matters.
Let's keenly note that governments are temporary, but nations are permanent.
Leaders come and go, but assets remain.
Or at least they should.
The ports do not belong to today's politicians.
The pipelines do not belong to today's politicians.
The railways do not belong to today's politicians.
The enterprises built through generations of taxes do not belong to today's politicians.
They belong to Kenyans who are alive today and Kenyans who have not yet been born.
That is why privatization should never be discussed merely as a financial transaction.
It is also a moral transaction, and sadly it asks one generation to decide what future generations will own.
And perhaps that brings us back to the wisdom of our elders.
The vulture admires its feathers and believes they are entirely its own.
But,
It forgets the forces that gave it strength.
It forgets the ecosystem that sustained its growth.
It forgets that what appears abundant today can disappear tomorrow.
A nation can survive debt, it can survive deficits, as well as economic hardships.
But a nation that consumes its inheritance in pursuit of temporary relief risks discovering too late that some things cannot be bought back.
Let us also not forget that not everything valuable appears on a balance sheet.
Some things are called sovereignty, some stewardship, and some things are called the future.
And a nation, no matter how hungry, cannot afford to eat its future.