CS Mbadi to chair National Infrastructure Fund Council as Ruto appoints 7 members

In a notice issued by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei on Wednesday, the President appointed Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi as council chair while Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Kamau Thugge and Attorney General Dorcas Oduor will act as statutory members. 

Chairperson of Board of Directors of Fund for Export Development for Africa (FEDA) Prof. Benedict Oramah, Kenya Pipeline Company Limited Chairperson Faith Boinett, KCB Group PLC CEO Paul Russo and Liberty Holdings Limited Chairperson Richard Etemesi were named as independent members for three years. 

According to the notice, the purpose of the council is to mobilise private capital and enhance the delivery of commercially viable infrastructure projects. 

To attain this, the council's priority will be to oversee the recruitment of the Fund's Board of Directors, which shall in turn recruit the CEO to drive the Fund's implementation. 

"It is notified that His Excellency the President has appointed members to the Governing Council of the National Infrastructure Fund," the notice read in part. 

"This presidential action follows the coming into force of the National Infrastructure Fund Act, 2026, pursuant to Article 116 of the Constitution."

The development comes weeks after President Ruto signed the Ksh.5 trillion NIF bill, 2026, into law, paving way for private investment into infrastructure development projects. 

The bill, sponsored by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah, sought to shift focus from borrowing and taxation by turning to the private sector for capital. 

According to President Ruto, the expansion of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) should be the first project undertaken under the fund. 

"The Fund is not an experiment. It is a model that has been adopted successfully around the world. Examples include the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund established in 2011, the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund in 2014, India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund in 2015, the Canada Infrastructure Bank in 2017, the United Kingdom’s National Wealth Fund, and South Africa’s Infrastructure Fund," the President said on March 9, 2026.