The anti-corruption commission has cleared the deal between Telkom Kenya and Airtel. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) was approached by MPs to investigate the merger deal to check whether the government’s interests would be safeguarded after the merger. The Commission stated that Telkom being a private company, technically meant that the proposed tie-up cannot be investigated since it is a commercial agreement.
It pointed out that TKL (Telkom Kenya Ltd) is a private company co-owned by the Government of Kenya, National Treasury and Helios Investors Fund III LLP (Helios) through Jamhuri Holdings Limited. The Government’s stake stood at 40 percent of the shares while Helios held the balance 60 which indicated that Telkom Kenya is not subject to the State Corporations Act, and cannot be investigated by the EACC as MPs had demanded. The two telecoms are required to obtain an EACC clean bill of health and also clear any debts before their merger can be approved. It is also reported that Safaricom has asked CA not to approve the merger before Telkom and Airtel clear the Sh906.6 million and Sh390.7 million payment owned for interconnection, co-location and fiber services.
