Public corporations in single-country and regional settings: Kenya and the east african community

This essay draws from the experience of Kenya and the East African Community to ascertain the impact of single-country or regional ownership on the commercial performance of public enterprises. The advantages of the larger resource base of a regional community are mooted by the problems of mobilizing those resources. A fledgling public corporation can secure assistance most readily when owned by one state. It is also clear that traits of a corporation independent of its regional or single-country status affect commercial success. The essay concludes with a discussion of the limited contribution public corporations make to further levels of regional integration.