The Government of Kenya (GOK) is currently implementing Vision 2030, the country's development blueprint covering the period 2008 to 2030. The aim of Vision 2030 is to transform Kenya into a newly industrialized middle-income country, providing high quality of life to all its citizens by the year 2030. This Vision 2030 aspires for a country with high quality services and facilities with investment in infrastructure facilities given the highest priority. The Government recognizes that the required funds to fully support the country's development agenda and to meet the infrastructure deficit will require involvement of the private sector, hence Public Private Partnerships (PPP). PPP arrangments, therefore, offer an opportunity for the country to attract enhanced private sector particip tion in financing, building and operating infrastructure services and facilities.
The Government of Kenya is, therefore, committed to providing an enabling environment for public private partnerships by having a strong political will, robust legal and institutional framework, as well as strengthening public sector capabilities to effectively and successfully implement PPP projects.
Since 1996, Kenya has attracted private investments into the country's economic infrastructure sectors including telecommunications, energy, transport, water and sewerage. These investments have demonstrated both the commitments of GOK to PPPs and the interest in these sectors by private investors, lenders and operators.
These infrastructure investments however, occurred without a specific policy, legal and regulatory framework for PPP. As a result, most of these transactions, have taken longer time to be prepared and approved, while key analyses regarding affordability and the value for money that GOK and consumers would receive were not adequately conducted. In addition, there has also been uncertainty about the legal process by which contracts should be tendered, procured and awarded. With increased momentum of delivering Vision 2030 flagship projects, there is renewed interest in using the PFlP model by various sectors within Government. The success of these projects will depend on the certainty about the framework by which the projects are to be prepared, procured and implemented.
This policy is, therefore, expected to articulate and underscore the Government's commitment and lay the foundation for an enabling environment for attracting private sector partners in finanlcing and managing infrastructure services. The establishment and operation of an appropriate public private partnership framework to guide public and private sector will greatly enhance the attainment of Kenya Vision 2030 development goals.
The development and implementation of this policy is seen as the first step by Government in addressing constraints and challenges in mobilizing the necessary capital to increase the quantity and quality of key public services and to accelerate the socio-economic development of Kenya. Skiccessful implementation of the policy and the public private partnership program will require the support of all stakeholders and actors. The Kenya Government, therefore, looks forward to closer colt boration between the private sector and public sector and the Kenyan public in general to realize this very noble objective.