Supporting The Public Sector of Kenya

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Education

Public spending on education was 6.7% of GDP in 2010. There are eight years of compulsory education starting at the age of six.  Primary school comprises six years and secondary six, with cycles of two and four years.

There are many independent English-medium schools in Kenya, including boarding schools and schools offering British, International Baccalaureate and US qualifications, with the largest numbers of schools in Nairobi and Mombasa. Well-established schools include the Aga Khan Academy (Mombasa), Hillcrest (Nairobi), Imani School (Thika), the International School of Kenya (Nairobi), Peponi School (Ruiru), Rosslyn Academy (Nairobi) and St Mary’s School (Nairobi). Among Kenya’s many higher education institutions are the University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University, Moi University and Egerton University, as well as a growing number of private universities. Two state universities are planning to engage in priority public–private partnerships for infrastructural benefits. Kenyatta University will construct Students Hostels via PPP to accommodate 6,000 students, while Moi University will similarly develop student hostels for 7,500 people on a build–operate–transfer PPP basis.

Health

Public spending on health was 2% of GDP in 2012. The public sector provides around half of all health care in Kenya. Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi is the country’s major hospital; private hospitals include Ngong Rapha Hospital. Infant mortality was 48 per 1,000 live births in 2013 (122 in 1960). Malaria is the main endemic health problem and AIDS is a severe problem. In 2012, 6% of people aged 15–49 were HIV positive. The health sector has increasingly been designated for private sector investment by the Ministry of Health. Upcoming prioritised public–private partnerships are the Oxygen Plant project to improve 22 oxygen generating plants in 11 hospitals and the development of ICT services at Kenyatta National Hospital to manage services including financial, procurement, drug supply and record management.

Transport

Many successfully approved PPPs in the transport sector pre-date the establishment of the Public Private Partnership Act in 2013, such as the concession of Kenya Railways Corporations freight and passenger services for 25 and five years, respectively, in 2006 and the Nairobi Urban Toll Road Project, approved by the government in 2009. PPPs are prevalent in the transport sector of Kenya – large-scale projects for which the government was inviting expressions of interest in late 2013 were the Nairobi Southern Bypass (25 year concession, operate–maintain model), Kisumu Port (design– build–operate–maintain model) and the second Nyali Bridge (design–build–finance–operate–maintain). The new Nyali Bridge will run parallel to the existing 400-metre Nyali Bridge linking Mombasa Island with the Northern Coast.

Ports: Mombasa is the chief port for Kenya and an important regional port, handling freight for and from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, including a substantial volume of food aid. Ferries ply the coast between Mombasa, Malindi and Lamu. Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has forged a number of PPPs to commercialise existing ports, including the Kisumu Sea Port/Lake Victoria Ports Project. This will operate on a design– finance–build–transfer basis, with KPA retaining ownership of the port. Another imminent project, the Lamu Port Development Project, is particularly large-scale and diverse, involving the development of Lamu’s port, railway, airport, roads, refinery, pipelines and resort cities. A section of the development will be tendered out as PPPs with Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Southern Sudan all involved.