The National Treasury Building in Nairobi.
The National Treasury has set up a committee of experts to explore and recommend viable ways of mobilising long-term funds from the local capital markets to finance government’s infrastructure projects under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
The team, chaired by Hosea Kili, group managing director of CPF Group and President of the Association of Pension Trustees and Administrators of Kenya (APTAK), comprises leading professionals in finance, investment, infrastructure, and capital markets. Mr Kili will be deputised by Tom Mulwa, the chief executive officer of Liaison Group.
It has been tasked with reviewing existing regulations, deal structures, and the capacity of local financial markets to enhance private sector investment in key infrastructure projects while also identifying priority PPP initiatives for private sector financing, including flagship projects such as expansion of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) airfield and the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit Highway.
Kenya’s pension industry with an asset base of Sh2 trillion and life insurance sector with assets totaling Sh500 billion, have been identified as critical sources of capital for infrastructure development.
By tapping into investments by these sectors, the government aims to reduce reliance on loans and embrace sustainable financing solutions, while at the same time promoting local institutional investors.
However, the current investment regulations by the Retirement Benefits Authority do not provide for investments in government infrastructure projects save for investments (10 per cent) in debt instruments.
