A company tied to Stanley Murage, former aide to President Mwai Kibaki, and the late American investor Verley Lee “Rocky” Sembritzky, previously charged by US authorities with defrauding investors, has secured preliminary approval from Kenya’s Treasury for a Sh106 billion desalination plant in Lamu under a private public partnership (PPP) model. Despite Sembritzky’s controversial past, including allegations that he misused nearly Sh1 billion collected from American investors for a similar fake project, the Treasury's Directorate of PPP has allowed the company, Rasli Bahari, to proceed with negotiations. Questions remain about the adequacy of shareholder vetting, compounded by the firm's failure to legally update its shareholding structure following Sembritzky’s reported death in 2022.
The desalination plant, intended to supply potable water and extract saleable minerals, was okayed to move from feasibility to full contract in April 2025; Rasli says it has spent $20 million to date and is courting DFIs to take a 30 % equity slice. But the SEC record shows Sembritzky previously diverted investors’ money into luxury cars, jewellery and a $2 million condo, agreeing to $6.6 million in penalties. Critics worry the Lamu deal could saddle taxpayers with contingent liabilities if financing unravels, noting that PPP rules require Cabinet level scrutiny and PPRA monitoring for PiPs, yet neither body has addressed the ownership anomaly or Sembritzky’s fraud history. The episode underscores holes in Kenya’s project screening regime just as the government leans on PPPs to fund big ticket infrastructure amid a debt squeeze.
#PublicPrivatePartnerships #Governance #InfrastructureFinance #KenyaEconomy
In 1983, exactly 43 years ago, a girl from Itaberaí (Goiás) slipped past the security of Brazilian President Figueiredo and handed him a letter asking for a house for her mother, who was a domestic worker and unemployed.
The girl’s request led to the construction of the Valentina Figueiredo housing complex in João Pessoa, Paraíba, which is home to 22,000 residents and was named after the president’s mother.