Kenya to issue 150 billion shillings roads bond

Kenya will issue a 150 billion shillings ($1.48 billion) roads bond by June.

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.

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.

principal secretary for the state department of infrastructure, Paul Maringa told a parliamentary committee that cash raised from the bond would be used to pay pending bills to contractors and to finance new work.