Kenya to issue Ksh.150B roads bond by June -report

Kenya will issue a Ksh.150billion roads bond by June, a local newspaper reported on Thursday, quoting a top government official.

The bond will be the first whose proceeds are dedicated to building and maintaining the East African nation’s road network, the Business Daily said.

Some roads were damaged by heavy rains last year.

Paul Maringa, PS for the State Department of Infrastructure, told a parliamentary committee that cash raised from the bond would be used to pay pending bills to contractors and to finance new work, the newspaper reported.

A second such bond will be issued in September, the report said, adding that the Treasury would guide the issuance of the bonds, including their structuring.

Officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government has been criticized by voters for borrowing heavily since coming to power in 2013, and his administration was forced to raise its borrowing ceiling last year after breaching initial targets.

The Treasury, which is trying to rein in a gaping budget deficit and reduce spending, has expressed confidence that the government will not face any funding challenges.