Port Harcourt—Johnson Mwawasi Kilangi, the Chief Executive Officer of Miundo Misingi Hub, an infrastructure hub based in Nairobi has applauded management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for organising a summit to discuss how to deploy infrastructure assets and services with the private sector.
According to Johnson, the summit came at a time when many countries are struggling to meet the ever-expanding infrastructure financing requirements, exacerbated by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Johnson said time is ripe for the region to leverage private sector resources and innovation to develop qualified, affordable and sustainable infrastructure for the citizens.
He however noted that this will not be possible if the region does not build an ecosystem that allows such private-sector solutions to thrive.
He insisted that there is an urgent need for the region to enhance the PPP framework so as to instil confidence in the private sector.
According to him “Capacity still remains a challenge, there is a need for the region to realign capacity-building initiatives to ensure they resonate with the needs of the region. ”
Johnson further said that there is a need to champion action-based and practical training initiatives to ensure that professionals are equipped with skills to deliver solutions for the region.
He said Miundo Misingi Hub is on a mission to build infrastructure champions across Africa who will influence how infrastructure is conceptualised, structured, financed and managed.
The Kenyan investor also stated that the region can leverage on the huge mineral resources including oil deposits to structure bespoke financing arrangements that could potentially unlock financing for the infrastructure needs of the region.
Johnson also added that the region needs to tap locally available resources to cater for the infrastructure needs of the region.
“The local market might not be advanced for now, but we can start with relatively smaller projects that can attract local financing. Governments can come in where necessary to incentivize local financing to flow to these projects.”
He recommended that the region can leverage on green financing sources in the globe to build clean and sustainable infrastructure projects.
He commended the management of NDDC led by Dr. Samuel Ogbuku and says that he looks forward to continued sharing of experiences from East Africa including how the private sector can support government initiatives.
He said the Miundo Misingi Hub was incorporated out of the need to support governments to originate sustainable infrastructure solutions that could potentially be replicated across Africa.
