By Suleiman Mbatiah
President William Ruto has announced the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund, saying it will safeguard the country’s natural resource revenues and guarantee that future generations inherit lasting national wealth. The fund, he said in his 2025 State of the Nation Address, will anchor Kenya’s shift from short-term spending to long-term asset building.
Ruto said the fund will draw a portion of royalties from natural resources and part of the proceeds from privatization, in line with Article 201(c) of the Constitution, which requires that the burdens and benefits of resource use be shared fairly across generations.
He warned that Kenya cannot afford to repeat past failures, pointing to the depletion of titanium deposits at the Coast, where communities were left without enduring benefits.
“We cannot repeat this mistake,” he said, adding that the Fund will sit on long-term savings, stabilisation against global shocks, and investment in commercially viable infrastructure to attract private capital.
The President said the sovereign wealth fund will operate alongside the National Infrastructure Fund, a new vehicle designed to ring-fence all privatisation proceeds and reinvest them in national assets rather than recurrent budgets.
He argued that Kenya must move away from “unsustainable borrowing” and instead use innovative financing models that draw in private investors, unlock national assets, and reduce pressure on taxpayers.
“For decades we privatised major public assets, yet we cannot point to enduring national assets built from those proceeds,” he said.
Ruto said the infrastructure fund’s design is grounded in the Government-Owned Enterprises Bill, which he will sign into law, and will target long-term investors such as pension funds, sovereign partners, and development finance institutions. The model, he noted, mirrors successful public investment funds in countries such as Norway, Singapore, and the UAE.
He added that the reforms are part of a broader vision refined through consultations with leaders across political lines, including former Prime Minister the late Raila Odinga and former President Uhuru Kenyatta, both of whom underscored the importance of infrastructure in driving economic transformation.