David Wright
Position: Board Advisor
Categories: Board of Advisors
David Wright is a leading international expert on all forms of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). He has significant senior experience of planning and delivering value for money PPP projects, first as a United Kingdom (UK) civil servant in the 1990’s and as a senior adviser, trainer and mentor to many governments around the world for the last 20 years.
In addition to delivering infrastructure, he teaches how best to do it. He transfers his extensive knowledge of good (and bad) international practice to help government officials and private sector employees understand how they can efficiently and effectively run PPP programmes and deliver PPP infrastructure projects themselves.
David was responsible for delivering the first two prison Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects, developing overall UK’s PFI policy, writing the business case, developing project documentation, managing the two projects, negotiating the commercial and financial terms and justifying value for money.
Between 1996 and 1999, as Head of PFI in the UK Government’s Funding Agency for Schools, and then as a member of the UK Department for Education’s Private Finance team, he analysed proposed PPP school schemes, determining whether the need for schemes was justified by local and national factors. He worked with advisers to develop output specifications for the service provision for individual schools. He assisted school governing bodies to negotiate the deals.
As an Associate of the UK Treasury Task Force and PartnershipsUK, David developed a unique blend of project analysis at the highest levels and assistance with the detailed negotiation of a number of significant grouped schools projects, including Haringey, Liverpool, Tower Hamlets, and East Lothian schemes. He was involved in the work on drafting standard PFI contracts in the education sector. He reviewed proposed projects in a number of sectors including health, education, criminal justice and nuclear energy.
David has continuously provided bespoke project finance and PPP training and capacity building initiatives to a number of public bodies including government ministries and private companies across the globe. He brings on board vast experience in managing complex projects and in leading teams in identifying commercial solutions to social and economically desirable projects.
Johnson Mwawasi Kilangi
Position: Project Finance & PPP Consultant
Categories: Board of Advisors, Team Member
Johnson is the Founder of Miundo Misingi Hub, an infrastructure project finance and PPP advisory firm incorporated in Kenya. He is an infrastructure project finance and PPP consultant with over 15 years of cumulative experience in the infrastructure sector in East Africa. He has practical experience in the structuring, implementation and management of innovative project financing solutions. He also offers advisory and training on the structuring and implementation of PPP projects.
He is also a Director of the Taita Taveta County Investment and Development Corporation’s Board, the investment arm of the County Government of Taita Taveta, advising the Governor and Executive on infrastructure investment.
Johnson founded the Africa Project Finance Program, an action-based, pan-African training program that has equipped project finance and PPP skills to more than 500 professionals across 15 countries. He is also an Adjunct Lecturer of the Strathmore Business School in Kenya offering industry based PPP training.
Before founding the Miundo Misingi Hub, Johnson worked for the Economic and Commercial office of Spain and Isolux Ingenieria S.A. During his employment, he has been involved in the financial planning and management of infrastructure projects in the energy transmission & distribution, road & bridges, real estate and power sectors in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Gambia and Senegal.
Johnson holds a First-Class Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting from Strathmore University, Kenya, a Post Graduate Certificate in project finance from Middlesex University, London, an APMG PPP Certificate, Envision Sustainability Professional Certification by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, Accountancy Certification by the Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examination Body and has gone through various trainings in project finance and PPP.
He is a Certified Public Accountant of Kenya, a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya, Steering Committee Member and Chair of the Finance Chapter of the World Association of PPP Units and Professionals based in Geneva.
Dr, Ing. Shelter Lotsu Yao
Position: Board Advisor
Categories: Board of Advisors
Eng. Shelter Lotsu is the Managing Director of GIBB Consulting Services (West Africa) Ltd., located in Accra, Ghana. GIBB West Africa is a subsidiary of GIBB Africa Ltd., Kenya. GIBB provides consulting services in Multi-disciplinary Engineering, Architectural and Real Estate Development, Project Management Consulting, Investment Appraisal and Evaluation, Environmental and Social Safeguards, Value for Money Audit, Public Private Partnership Advisory, Project Finance Services, and Feasibility studies.
Shelter Lotsu is an accomplished Civil Engineer with over 26 years in Civil Engineering Construction and Project Management in public service. Shelter holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, Master of Engineering Degree in Highway and Airport Engineering from Tongji University, PR, China, Master of Science Degree in Global Management from Salford University, U.K., and Certification of Public Private Partnership (PPP) Specialist from IP3 in Washington DC, USA. He also holds the Certificate of Program on Investment Appraisal and Risk Management from Queens University, Canada. He is currently pursuing his Doctoral studies at the University of Business and International Studies, Switzerland.
Shelter has worked on several civil/highway engineering and construction projects and successfully supervised the design and construction of Multi-Lane Highways with major Interchanges. He has held the positions of Chief Resident Engineer, Head of Public Private Partnership, Regional Highway Director, with intimate knowledge of the FIDIC suite of construction contract documents. He has extensive experience resulting from practical application in the management of engineering projects, hands-on delivery of complex civil engineering/highway projects, attendance at seminars and workshops, spanning over two decades.
Shelter is a leading PPP Specialist and has been a Team Lead for the Ghana/World Bank Road Sector Flagship PPP projects in the project Identification, Screening, Selection, Preparation, Structuring and Procurement of Concessionaires. He successfully developed the first generation of PPP pipe line projects for the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Roads and Highways in Ghana. He has served as Key Expert on Committees advising on PPP Regulations and Guidelines for the Government of Ghana. He has been the Head of PPP on the Accra-Tema Motorway and the Accra-Takoradi Motorway PPP projects, the Government Team Lead alongside the Transaction Advisors.
He has served on Panel of Experts at PPP Conferences in Ghana, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Shelter is a strong advocate for the need of Governments to use Credible and Experienced Transaction Advisors for successful PPPs. He advocates that infrastructure PPPs must have Win-Win-Win solutions for the Public Entity, Private Investors, and the Users of the Facilities.
Shelter’s interest is to encourage innovative financing of mega infrastructure projects in Ghana and across Africa to enable Governments to use the alternative finance sourcing such as sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, private equities and debt financing and thereby allow fiscal space for other competing national demands on the budget.
Rosa Maria Pastor Nicolas
Position: Board Advisor
Categories: Board of Advisors
Rosa Maria Pastor Nicolas is a Civil Engineer with almost 20 years’ experience in leading large and complex construction and EPC infrastructure projects that have enabled her gain in-depth experience in project structuring and financing, including some innovative approaches to accelerate infrastructure investment like Work for Taxes or Government to Government Agreements.
Throughout her career she has been able to manage different infrastructure frameworks, including collaborative Public Private Partnerships, Concessions, EPC projects and projects involving multiple stakeholders from several countries involved.
Having worked in Europe, South America and Africa gives her a wide perspective on how to approach the multiple challenges of project infrastructure that is necessary for the complex development structure of projects especially in the emerging markets.
At the beginning of her career she worked in major construction projects in Spain, and in 2005 she became a Project Manager leading the construction of highways and railways that included several kilometres of viaducts and tunnels and massive amounts of earth movement and asphalt pavement. Afterwards she moved to Peru where she was able to direct a wider portfolio with more spectacular bridges and roads, water sanitation projects, and electric lines and substations in the rainforest.
She was also responsible for Kenya and Ethiopia High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) bipole with AC/DC converter stations, with a power transfer capacity of up to 2,000 MW for an international company, projects funded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank. Besides, she was also a Consultant on the engineering, implementation of the construction for the Trans Gambia Bridge project.
She is currently the Civil Project Manager of OHLA Group, Peru, in charge of all civil projects in Peru. Among them are relevant highways and roads of over 100 km long, dams, mining projects, river defences, water sanitation and other complex projects with an overall budget of over $1000 million. With her solid background as a former project director, accompanied by a high level of technical know-how, she has the responsibility of the project results in the country, overseeing and monitoring the directors in all the relevant aspects of them.
Rosa Maria holds a Civil Engineering degree and also a Master in Civil Engineering from the University of Cantabria, Spain. She has also undertaken other specialization courses including an Advanced Course in Management of Major Projects and has also lectured at some Universities and seminars in Spain and Peru.
Dr. James Boyd McFie
Position: Board Advisor
Categories: Board of Advisors
Nairobi born Jim McFie lectures in Strathmore University Business School, Nairobi. He has a Bachelor of Arts and an Masters in Arts in Mathematics from Oxford University and a PhD in Accounting from Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland. He is a fellow of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) and of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.He is a Director and the Head of the Board Audit Committee of SBM Bank Limited, the Chairman of Sasini plc, a member of the Board of the Standard Group plc, and the Convenor of the Registration and Quality Assurance Committee of ICPAK. He is the Honorary Treasurer of Acakoro Football Academy in Korogosho SlumsBetween 1993 and 2002 he was a Director of the Kenya Capital Markets Authority, a Member of the Kenya Value Added Tax Tribunal and a Trustee of the Kenya Corporate Governance Trust and of Jitegemee Trust. From 2014 to 2017 he was the Vice-Chairman of Centum plc. From 1974 to 1978 he worked in the Nairobi office of Ernst and Young, as an auditor and as a tax and management consultant, before becoming the training manager of the firm.
Currently he lectures and does research in financial and forensic accounting, auditing and accounting fraud, taxation and tax fraud, cybercrime and governance.
Sharon Mwakugu
Position: PPP Legal Consultant
Categories: Board of Advisors, Team Member
Sharon is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and holds a law degree from the Nelson Mandela University, South Africa. In addition to her LLB, she has been recognized by the ImPPPact Global Alliance and appointed as one of its ambassadors for Kenya to champion achievement of the sustainable development goals through PPPs. She is an Australia Awards recipient having been selected to participate in the Public Private Infrastructure Projects Course in Australia and South Africa. She is also an APMG certified PPP practitioner and an alumna of the Africa Project Finance Program.
Her experience over the last twelve years has included advising various corporations on large scale infrastructure projects in various sectors including hospitality, healthcare, real estate and road construction. Sharon brings tangible, recent and practical experience on operational infrastructure PPP projects in Kenya. She has been involved in the structuring and implementation of Kenya’s pioneer road PPP projects including leading as the CEO of Special Purpose Vehicle entities that delivered road PPP projects in Central and Western Kenya and Kenya’s first Annuity PPP project where she was the Head of Legal at the PPP contractor and operator of Lot 33 of the Kenyan Road Annuity Programme. Sharon has therefore been at the heart of legal risk assessment, concession agreement negotiations and drafting, mobilization of financing, contract management as well as dispute resolution in infrastructure projects.
Dr. Fred Amonya
Position: Board Advisor
Categories: Board of Advisors
Dr Amonya views the infrastructure space as a nexus of PPP, climate change, and the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). Those three forces excite complex interactions of the state, society, and market. He brings the physics of that complex space to the common parlance of policymaking. Outside public policy and investment management, Dr Amonya assists graduate schools in the UK and Africa to develop courses that capture the complexity of infrastructure. Before the pandemic, he crisscrossed university hills of Africa teaching complexity science to graduate students. And he was Chair, Transport Systems Economics, PIARC (2016/9) – leading policymakers and academics in analysing transport systems across the 122 member countries of the organisation. He is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow CIHT and holds a PhD in policy science. Here are his publications: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fred-Amonya-2
Martin Kisuu
Position: Board Advisor
Categories: Board of Advisors
Martin Kisuu has over 25 years professional experience in taxation spanning across all sectors of the Kenyan and East African economies. Notable engagements include in the energy sector where he has provided advisory work for the Kenya Electricity Generating Company Plc (KenGen) and Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited (KPLC) on the tax implication of major projects such as Olkaria 1, Olkaria 2 and Olkaria 3. He has also provided similar services to the Mitsubishi Group on the tax implications of the Mombasa Diesel Power Project and Kipevu Diesel Plants. Other services to players in the sector include tax risk and opportunity assessment for KPLC & KenGen and representation & resolution of tax disputes with the Kenya Revenue Authority on behalf of major clients.
Martin has also played an advisory role to major public sector clients such as Uganda Revenue Authority, Rwanda Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Finance of Rwanda on tax management systems and legislation. This is in addition to conducting tax trainings for the staff of the ENC Investments, Kenya Ports Authority, East Africa Breweries Limited, the Kenya Spain’s Economic and Commercial Office among others.
He is a fellow of the Institution of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) and has served on its Public Finance Committee, heading its Technical sub-committee. He currently serves in the Legislative Affairs work stream under Public Policy and Governance Committee of the Institute.
Martin is also regular author for Bloomberg, International Tax Review and Tax Analysts. In addition, he has worked as an author and reviewer for the International Bureau for Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) and served as a member of the Kenya Customs Valuations Appeal Tribunal.