Kenya has launched a National Infrastructure Fund to tackle a crippling $2.1 billion annual infrastructure financing gap—a bold move for a country already spending 71% of government revenue on debt servicing. The fund will pursue public-private partnerships, privatization proceeds, and institutional capital to finance roads, energy, and ports without deepening the public debt burden. However, project finance experts warn of serious design flaws: potential conflicts of interest, role ambiguities, vague private-sector provisions, and a contradictory clause that allows government guarantees to constitute public debt; this undermines the fund’s founding rationale. Kenya’s infrastructure deficit is real and urgent. But without clearer performance targets, genuine political independence, and robust private sector frameworks, this promising initiative risks becoming another well-intentioned policy that underdelivers.
The Conversation
