At least 95 companies dealing in different products and services are set to be dissolved in the next three months as the pain of the tough economic times in the country continues to bite.
Through a Gazette Notice dated November 7, the government stated that the said companies will be struck off the register by February 2025 and the companies shall be dissolved if no one objects.
“The Registrar of Companies gives notice that the names of the companies specified hereunder shall be struck off from the Register of Companies at the expiry of three months from the date of publication of this notice,” read the notice in part.
The government, through the Registrar of Companies Joyce Koech, also invited Kenyans with any reservations in regard to the dissolution of the mentioned companies to show cause as to why they should not be dissolved.
A photo of a man at a manufacturing company
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Alliance Employment Services
‘‘The Registrar of Companies invites any person to show cause why the companies should not be struck off from the Register of Companies,’’ Koech added.
Pursuant to section 897 (3) of the Companies Act, the government must issue a three-month notice before removing the dissolved companies from its register.
The dissolution comes in the wake of massive lay-offs and retrenchments by companies that are downsizing to weather economic storms that have hit the country hard at the core forcing some multi-national companies to shut down operations.
The dissolution of the 95 will see many Kenyans suffer either directly or indirectly, especially those whose livelihoods depend on the companies.
The announcement comes a fortnight after four companies among them Procter & Gamble, Base Titanium, G4S, and Tile & Carpet issued notice to their staff regarding impending layoffs and closures. The action by the combined four companies will see over 2,500 Kenyans lose their jobs by December 2024.
Many companies have in the past few years sent their employees home, citing high business operational costs in Kenya and the deteriorating nosiness climate.
According to the Companies Act, a company may through its directors or the Registrar of Companies apply to the to be struck off the register of companies as it ceases its operations and existence.
Other reasons why a company might be dissolved include situations where the company could be carrying out any business or is under liquidation.
According to data from tax agencies in the country, many companies that have dissolved in the past year did so because of the stringent regulatory and taxation measures put forth by the government.
The government however did not indicate why the 95 Kenyan companies were dissolving via the notice.
A photo of jobseekers waiting for an interview in Nairobi County on June, 18, 2019.
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Nairobi County Government