CS Lee Kinyanjui calls out Kenyans over taxes and infrastructure funding
By Mustafa Juma, November 20, 2025Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry, Lee Kinyanjui, has called out Kenyans for their reluctance to embrace policies necessary for the country’s development.
Speaking during an interview with a local TV station on the night of Wednesday, November 19, 2025, Kinyanjui stated that Kenyans have a tendency to object to what they don’t understand, even if it has been proven to have worked elsewhere.
According to him, the country cannot object to more taxes, reject loans from outside, or object to the use of the private sector to build infrastructure, which obviously costs money.
“I think the problem we have as Kenyans is sometimes what we don’t understand, we tend to object to it even when it has been proven to work elsewhere. We cannot say we don’t want more taxes, we don’t want loans from outside, and we don’t want to use the private sector to build infrastructure because somehow it will cost money. Where will the money come from?” he questioned.
Sustainable balance
The CS emphasised the importance of finding a sustainable balance between taxation, private sector involvement, and other innovative financing methods.
“So there must be a clear balance between taxation, and you know, there are also sustainable levels; we cannot overtax people beyond a certain point. Securitisation becomes an important way of working off balance sheet and being able to deliver infrastructure,” Kinyanjui explained.
His remarks come at a time when the government is seeking to attract more private sector investment into key infrastructure projects, including roads, energy, and industrial parks.
Kinyanjui stressed that rejecting taxes, loans, or private partnerships outright would make it impossible to meet the country’s ambitious development agenda.
Ruto defends PPP
Kinyanjui’s remarks come barely a month after President William Ruto defended the government’s decision to expand the Nairobi–Nakuru–Mau Summit highway through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), saying the model will allow Kenya to build more major roads without adding to its debt burden.
Speaking in Nakuru County on Monday, October 27, 2025, Ruto said the government must be innovative in how it finances infrastructure projects.
He noted that traditional funding through the national budget is no longer sustainable given the country’s limited fiscal space.