How Govt Plans to Split Safaricom, Treasury Blocks Use of Tax Refunds to Pay KRA Dues

Hello and welcome to the Money Weekly Newsletter, where we dissect the government’s plan to split Safaricom into three entities.

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The government is exploring a plan to split Safaricom into three separate business units: a telecommunications operator, a tower company, and the M-Pesa mobile money service.

This move is part of the government’s initiative to raise money through the sale of its 35% stake in the telco.

According to Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, an initial assessment has shown that the split could bring significant benefits to the government ahead of the planned sale of shares. 

By separating the different businesses, the government aims to revalue each unit independently to get a more accurate picture of Safaricom's total market worth. 

Separating its different revenue streams, the core telecommunication business, its infrastructure (towers), and the highly profitable M-Pesa platform, would allow for a more precise valuation of each part, helping the government determine the true value of its 35% stake.

Currently, Safaricom is valued at Ksh1.07 trillion - putting the government's stake at around Ksh350 billion. 

However, the government will only be selling part of its 35% stake and will retain part of its ownership at the telco. Specifically, the government intends to collect around Ksh140 billion through the sale.

“There is talk that if we could offload more of our ownership of Safaricom, we are likely to get the Ksh149 billion through privatisation in the 2025/26 financial year,” the CS stated.

This will not be the first time that the government is selling its shares in Safaricom. In 2008, the government sold 25% shares for Ksh51.7 billion. Read more about this story.

Here is a quick recap of the top money news for the week:

Treasury Blocks Use of Tax Refunds to Pay KRA Dues   

• On Tuesday, the National Treasury blocked the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) from implementing part of the Finance Act 2025 that allowed taxpayers to offset tax dues using refunds from overpaid taxes. Treasury opposed these changes, citing concerns over their impact on revenue collection.

• On the other hand, KRA and the National Youth Service (NYS) announced over 500 job vacancies, including opportunities for graduate trainees and lecturers. Read more on how to apply for the KRA and NYS jobs.

Catch Up on More News

WEEKLY MONEY TIPS

MONEY254 #MONEYTOK

SGR Debt: Why Kenya Wants China to Accept Yuan Instead of Dollars 

Kenya has asked China to restructure the costly SGR loan by converting it from USD to Yuan, to ease the burden caused by shilling depreciation. The loan, taken at about Ksh450B in 2014/15, has ballooned to nearly Ksh780B, with Kenya paying around Ksh118B yearly while earning only Ksh18B from the railway.

Treasury says a Yuan-denominated deal could cut interest costs by half, free up funds for development, and even revive plans to extend the SGR to Kisumu and the Ugandan border.

@money254hq

𝐒𝐆𝐑 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐭: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐚 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐘𝐮𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬 Kenya has asked China to restructure the costly SGR loan by converting i... See more

That’s a wrap for this week’s Money Weekly!

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