Kenya to issue Sh150Billion roads bond by June

Kenya will issue a 150 billion shillings roads bond by June, the Business Daily 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. Some roads were damaged by heavy rains last year.

Paul Maringa, principal secretary 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.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government has been criticised 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.