Nakuru County Governor Susan Kihika on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, attacked Kenyans over their continuous discontent with President William Ruto’s policies.
In a lengthy post shared via her official X platform, Kihika, a close ally to President Ruto, wondered why Kenyans were hell-bent on chastising the Head of State for borrowing money externally and internally yet whenever willing investors presented themselves to fund key projects, they bashed the idea.
“Ok good people, am sitting here wondering what Kenyans really want? You don’t want the President to borrow any more money (I get it and prefer he doesn’t too) but when we have willing investors for PPP’s then you are all up in arms? Then you also don’t want him to raise money internally – Finance Bill!” Kihika wrote.
The county head also questioned why Kenyans would openly reject the Public Private Partnership (PPP) deals, yet it is important in securing funding for key projects in the country.
“But yet you want big things done!! When he comes to Nakuru County we want the dualling of the Rironi – Mau Summit Road, we want the Itaare dam completed, we want the Lanet Airport completed, we want our poor road networks upgraded where is he supposed to get this money from? He wasn’t a magician the last I checked.
“Wouldn’t it make more sense for PPP’s to handle some of these very expensive but very necessary infrastructural projects?” she posed.
While defending Ruto’s policies, the county governor further expressed that Kenyans have become have become extremely negative, cynical and unpatriotic people maintaining that citizens need to realise that the country urgently needs to embrace PPPs as part of sustainable development solutions to steer developmental progress.
“Airports like JFK ($9.5B Terminal 1 & $4.2B Terminal 6), Heathrow (£14B expansion), and Istanbul ($12B new airport) have thrived under Public-Private Partnerships.
“As we face limits on debt and as local resource collection mechanisms face challenges, it’s time to embrace sustainable development solutions such as PPPs for Kenya’s infrastructure growth. Let’s maximize local resource mobilization and public private partnerships for a prosperous future.”
