MPs dismiss claims that foreign firms sideline Kenyan transporters

The National Assembly has dismissed claims that multinational companies operating in Kenya are sidelining local transporters, saying investigations found no evidence of discriminatory practices.

This follows concerns raised by local operators over limited access to contracts and alleged preferential treatment for foreign companies.

The National Assembly’s Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives ruled that a proposal to reserve 60 per cent of logistics business for local firms would breach competition law, distort the market and undermine efficiency in the sector.

The Kenya Transporters Association (KTA) petitioned Parliament in February last year, alleging that multinationals were systematically excluding local operators and preferring foreign peers in awarding contracts. The association argued that this practice amounted to unfair trading and called for a quota system guaranteeing local firms at least 60 per cent of transport and logistics work.

KTA insisted that Kenyan companies have the capacity to justify such a requirement and claimed that multinationals were violating local content and competition laws. However, MPs found that the association did not present concrete evidence to support the allegations.

“Based on the evidence adduced, the committee found that the allegations of discriminatory conduct, abuse of dominance, or predatory pricing by the multinational companies concerned were unsubstantiated and concluded that the matter did not warrant further action,” reads the committee report.

The committee noted that although local transporters had raised “legitimate concerns” over limited access to certain contracts and what they perceived as preferential treatment for multinational firms, the documentation provided did not substantiate “deliberate discrimination or exclusionary conduct.”

“The committee finds no evidence of unfair discrimination or market foreclosure contrary to Section 24(2)(c) of the Competition Act, 2010, which prohibits applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions,” reads the report.

MPs also dismissed the demand for a fixed quota system, noting that enforcing such a measure would conflict with Kenya’s competition laws and the country’s trade liberalisation commitments.

“The committee recommends that the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) continue its market surveillance role under Sections 21 and 24 of the Competition Act, 2010, to ensure continued adherence to fair competition and non-discriminatory contracting practices across the logistics and warehousing sectors,” the report adds.

The committee met with the Kenya Transporters Association and representatives of six multinational companies, while the Competition Authority of Kenya provided regulatory insights before the final determination.

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