Infrastructure Financing Standoff: Gachagua Claims Foreign Contractors Shifted Risk to NSSF

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has renewed his aggressive political assault on the government’s infrastructure policy, alleging that billions of shillings from the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) are being deployed to cover financing gaps for the Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road project after contracted foreign firms declined to invest their own capital.

Speaking during recent public engagements, Gachagua questioned the decision to commit an estimated Ksh 30 billion of Kenyan workers’ retirement savings into the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework, claiming the arrangement shifts commercial risks away from foreign contractors onto domestic contributors.

According to Gachagua, Chinese companies involved in the multi-billion shilling corridor project opted out of providing full private financing, prompting state negotiators to turn to public pension reserves to bridge the equity requirement.

The former second-in-command asserted that using pension funds for high-risk, capital-intensive road dualing sets a dangerous precedent for institutional transparency and fund management.

Gachagua warned that officials oversight bodies overseeing the transaction would face legal action and forensic audits, promising that an alternative administration would reclaim any misallocated public assets.

The allegations come amidst ongoing debates over the restructuring of the 233-kilometer highway project, which was split into public-private concession blocks involving China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) alongside NSSF.

While government representatives maintain that pension fund equity participation in national infrastructure yields long-term, inflation-hedged returns for Kenyan workers, Gachagua’s warnings capitalize on public sensitivity surrounding retirement security.

As political maneuvering intensifies ahead of the 2027 General Election, the scrutiny over state-backed PPP financing structures remains a central flashpoint between the executive and opposition figures.

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https://peopledaily.digital/inside-politics/gachagua-nssf-money-used-as-chinese-firms-decline-to-finance-rironi-mau-summit-road

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