Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has defended the government’s proposal to establish a National Infrastructure Fund, saying it is aimed at ensuring proceeds from the sale of selected State assets are invested in long-term development projects.
Speaking during interdenominational prayers at Soliat Secondary School in Soin Sigowet Constituency, Kericho County, Kindiki said the sale of shares in strategic assets such as Safaricom and the Kenya Pipeline Company is not a new practice, noting that the funds will be managed by an independent private-sector-led board to ensure transparency, accountability and prudent use of public resources.
He DP the money made from the of state assets will no longer be channeled to recurrent expenditure as was witnessed in the past.
“The money that we are collecting from the sale of government stake we are taking it direct to the National Infrastructure Fund (NIF) which is governed by an independent board, we cannot again use the proceeds of government stake in government owned entities for recurrent expenditure,” he said.
The Deputy President lashed out at the opposition for selective criticism saying the past regimes used the funds largely to meet recurrent expenses, while the current administration intends to channel the money into the proposed National Infrastructure Fund to finance roads, bridges and other critical development projects.
“In the past government sold Kenya Airways shares but we cannot account for what we did with that money because we used it to pay salaries, to buy vehicles for government officials for recurrent expenditure, so we cannot trace what happened to the proceeds of the sale of Safaricom shares twice in the past and the sale of Kenya Airways shares in the past,” he said.
Kindiki hinted that the partial sale of Safaricom and Kenya Pipeline shares has fetched Ksh350 billion and is expected to generate Ksh3.5 billion shillings in the agreed formula with the private sector, insisting that the initiative is designed to guarantee sustainable financing for infrastructural projects without overburdening taxpayers.
He maintained that the government’s economic reforms are already bearing fruit, citing the revival of stalled roads projects where the government invested Ksh260 billion in the past year.
“I’m proud to announce that 6,000km of roads has resumed, roads that had stalled more than six years ago because President Ruto has paid the debt owed to contractors totaling to Ksh177billion,” said Kindiki.
