President William Ruto has signed into law the National Infrastructure Fund (NIF), a new government initiative aimed at raising more than Ksh5 trillion for major infrastructure projects over the next 10 years.
The President signed the Bill on Monday at State House, Nairobi, officially creating the fund that will help finance key development projects across the country. The plan passed its third reading on March 5
With the law now in place, the government says the fund will help Kenya move away from relying heavily on loans to finance development. Instead, the plan is to attract investments that can support large projects in areas such as infrastructure.
The National Infrastructure Fund will operate as an independent corporate body. This means it can enter contracts, invest in projects and own assets. However, the law does not allow the fund to borrow money or take loans using its assets.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said the fund will be run by a seven-member board made up of independent professionals and development finance experts.
“We have two levels of management for this fund. The board will be reporting to CS for Treasury four times in a year, and the CS will report to the Cabinet at least twice in a year. We will also be reporting to the National Assembly at least once a year,” Mbadi said.
According to the Treasury, the board will comprise four independent members and two members of development banking experts. The members of the board will be expected to meet certain standards to ensure that it remains free from political interference.
The members of the board will be expected to serve for a period of three years. The members of the board can be renewed only once.
Earlier, President William Ruto stated that the government plans to raise about Ksh2.5 trillion by April. The amount will be half of the total amount to be raised. The amount will be accumulated gradually over the next decade.
