SPEECH BY H.E.HON.UHURU.KENYATTA, C.G.H.

, PRESIDENT AND
COMMANDER- IN-CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF
KENYA DURING AFRICA INVESTOR CEO INFRASTRUCTURE
INVESTMENT SUMMIT, ABUJA, NIGERIA, 6TH MAY, 2014
Excellencies,
Chief Executive Ofcers Present,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here today, and to be a art of the !ummit" I than# the
$EP%D Planning and coordinating %gency, and %frica Investor for organi&ing
this gathering"
'he %frica Investor CEO Infrastructure Investment !ummit is a remier
business develoment forum for infrastructure investors, fund managers,
ro(ect develoers, ro(ect sonsors and PPP olicy ma#ers"
)e are grati*ed that the !ummit facilitates ban#able infrastructure investment
ro(ect itches from develoers and sonsors, one+on+one meetings ,ith
investors, and direct dialogue ,ith infrastructure regulators on seci*c
ro(ects"
'his is, therefore, an excellent develoment oortunity - one can directly
engage ro(ect decision+ma#ers from across the continent, international
*nancial institutions, regulators and donor organi&ations that suort
infrastructure develoment" I trust ,e ,ill all ma#e the most of it"
I am also hay to be associated ,ith the %frica Investor CEO Infrastructure
Investment %,ards, ,hich is a latform for investors in %frica.s fast+gro,ing
infrastructure sectors to measure and recogni&e their erformance and
achievements" 'he %,ards sho,case the cometitiveness of %frican
infrastructure as an internationally investible asset class"
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Infrastructure develoment is critical for economic gro,th and overty
reduction" In %frica, infrastructure can otentially contribute as much as /0
er year to Gross Domestic Product, ,ith articularly ositive e1ects in East
and Central %frica"
In other arts of the develoing ,orld, notably in China, massive investments
in infrastructure established the bac#bone for other economic activities such as
manufacturing, ,hich in turn fuelled economic gro,th"
% similar ath lies oen for %frican countries" 2oreover, increased access to
infrastructure services such as roads, electricity, telecommunications, ,ater
and sanitation3esecially in rural areas3entails direct social bene*ts such as
health, education, and ,omen.s emo,erment, so heling to achieve a socially
balanced and inclusive gro,th"
Conversely, de*cient infrastructure can hamer economic activities and
,ea#en human develoment e1orts" Poor infrastructure 4uality esecially
undermines roductivity among manufacturing *rms in %frica" Given the future
imortance of manufacturing for our develoment, this is not a hindrance ,e
can tolerate"
It is therefore critical to address these de*ciencies in order to unloc# %frica.s
roductive otential and maximi&e infrastructure.s imact on economic gro,th
and human develoment" 'o achieve this, signi*cant *nancial resources are
re4uired"
5or a number of years, many %frican countries have featured infrastructure as
one of the main focal areas in their national develoment lans, including the
Poverty 6eduction !trategy Paers 7P6!Ps8"
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
%n imortant asect of our infrastructure develoment is the need for a
regional aroach" Economies of scale from regional infrastructure often cut
the costs of construction and services"
In articular, regional infrastructure is suitable from %frica.s geograhical
ersective9 for examle, ,e have :; international river basins, ,hich o1er
vast hydroo,er otential"
It is therefore vital to romote regional and cross+border infrastructure as it
increases trade, imroves security, saves money, strengthens natural resource
management, addresses the needs of landloc#ed countries, and builds on
national and regional comarative advantages"
%s ,ith individual country ro(ects, cross+border ro(ects also re4uire able, ,ell+
funded ro(ect management, ,hich includes a dee understanding of the
economic and *nancial asects of all hases from rearation and
imlementation"
'hese ,ill not be easy criteria to meet, but meet them ,e must" )e might
begin to tac#le the matter by emhasi&ing (oint training across regions, the
4uic#er the better"
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
%frica.s yearly infrastructure *nance needs are immense"
Current infrastructure sending stands at <!= >? billion a year, ,hile yearly
demand for infrastructure *nance is estimated at <!= @A"> billion er year over
the next decade if the continent is to meet international standards in this *eld"
'he excess demand stems from9
:" Gro,th+induced demand in basic and social infrastructure 7roads,
sanitation and the li#e8 and economic infrastructure 7energy and
telecommunications being articularly rominent8"
/" <nmet demand in modern economic infrastructure imosed by
globali&ation and international cometition and standards, andB
A" 2aintenance and ugrading of existing infrastructure"
Co,ever, estimates from the )orld Dan# and the Economic Commission for
%frica 7EC%8, bolstered by the *ndings of the %frica Infrastructure Country
Diagnosis 7%ICD8 study, suggest that if the inefciencies in ro(ect lanning,
execution and maintenance ,ere roerly managed, the yearly *nance
re4uirement ,ould be reduced to around <!= /E billion er year" It may be
that ,ith rudent management, ,e can halve the funding ga"
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
2any %frican countries have recently celebrated their *fty years of
indeendence" Dut even after half a century of indeendence, far more
remains to be done to transform %frican economies to middle income status"
'hat mission does not fall only to governments" 5or business, the
infrastructure de*cit in %frica is an oortunity to do ,ell by doing right"
6esources from the rivate sector are re4uired to sulement governments.
e1orts, but the re,ards are not merely commercial - these are ro(ects that
have every rosect of radically transforming ordinary %frican lives"
'he infrastructure ga also re4uires dedicated *nancing mechanisms if it is to
be bridged" Cogni&ant of the need, the %frican <nion Ceads of !tate and
Government endorsed the creation of a dedicated funding mechanism to
accelerate infrastructure delivery in %frica"
'he %frican Develoment Dan# is searheading the establishment of a ne,
fund - the %frica ?E 5und - to mobili&e rivate sector funding to accelerate the
rate of infrastructure delivery in %frica"
In the long+term, it ,ill loo# to gather suort for infrastructure from
international caital mar#ets" It is, in short, a strong statement of %frica.s
readiness to address the infrastructure"
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In the East %frican Community deliberate riority is given to the develoment
of #ey regional transort corridors that in turn suort trade and investment"
!ome of the ro(ects oised to bene*t from the %frica ?E 5und in the region
include the rehabilitation and exansion of the $orthern Corridor connecting
the ort of 2ombasa ,ith Famala, Figali, Du(umbura and Eastern Democratic
6eublic of Congo"
Other riority regional ro(ects include rehabilitation of the Central Corridor
connecting Dar+Es+!alaam ,ith Du(umbura, Figali, and D6C"
In addition, the L%PP!E' ro(ect - ,here Fenya is see#ing artnershi ,ith the
rivate sector to (ointly build a high,ay, an oil ieline, a rail,ay line and a
seaort at Lamu connecting the ne, 6eublic of !outh !udan and Ethioia -
holds great investment otential"
'hese are only some of the ambitious ro(ects that ,e have embar#ed on in
the region" In East %frica, ,e are bac#ing our ,ords ,ith deeds"
In Fenya, ,e have ta#en note of t,o factors9 One, that investment in dis(ointed
infrastructure has very little dividend" In this context, ,e have adoted a
net,or# aroach to all our infrastructure investment, be they in energy, in
education, in roads, in agriculture, in health or any other sectors"
',o, that seci*cations are more often than not suerGuous and therefore lead
to very heavy and un,arranted investments" % case in oint are seci*cations
for road ,or#s in rural areas ,here seci*cations for high+design seeds are
used - ,ith the resultant re+alignment of roads re4uiring land ac4uisition,
resettlement action lans, relocation of utilities, among others, ,hile secs that
allo, for all ,eather mobility ,ould sufce" Dy adoting the latter, ,e ,ill
bring do,n the cost of road construction in rural areas by more than ;E er
cent"
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me conclude by observing that %frica rofoundly needs regional and
continental integration for sustainable develoment" Dut integration can only
thrive ,here there exists certain critical infrastructure" Het for such enabling
infrastructure to be resent, someone has to invest in it"
'his, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the de*ning challenge that ,e face" I am
certain that ,e ,ill rise to it"
'han# Hou and God bless you"