Governor Kihika faults Kenyans for being ‘extremely negative, cynical and unpatriotic’

In a long post on her social platform, the governor questioned why the public criticised the president for trying to source money, either locally or externally, to fund mega infrastructural projects. 

She also wondered why Kenyans would oppose the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) deals; citing that they are integral in involving the private sector to fund multi-billion projects instead of relying on the exchequer. 

Kenyans have voiced concern about some of the PPP deals in the pipeline such as the Adani-JKIA takeover deal, KETRACO-Adani for their 'opaque' nature; which affects public confidence in the government. 

"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," she posed. 

Kihika listed some of the projects that ought to be done in her county and wondered how the public expects the president to get the funds. 

"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," she remarked. 

"Wouldn’t it make more sense for PPP’s to handle some of these very expensive but very necessary infrastructural projects?" she questioned. 

According to the governor, Kenyans ought to give the president time as he attempts to obtain the country's fiscal balance. 

"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," Kihika pointed out. 

"And oh yeah we have become extremely negative as a people.  Very cynical and dare I say almost unpatriotic," she added.