The Senate Committee on Finance and Budget has directed Treasury CS, Amb Ukur Yatani to furnish, within seven days, a schedule of Commercial External Debt that it has earmarked for retirement.
In a meeting between the Senate Committee and the Treasury on the status of public debt in Kenya chaired by Sen. Charles Kibiru, the CS reported that retiring debt ‘is a long and tedious process’ and that Treasury had engaged experts to advise on restructuring the loans.
“When you appeared before us over a year ago part of your immediate concern and engagement was to retire expensive debt and leave the less expensive debts. What changed?” posed Sen Moses Wetangula.
In his presentation to the Committee, CS Yatani compared Kenya’s debt ratio to GDP to that of Japan, the US, UK and Angola saying that the country’s GDP ‘didn’t indicate that there is a serious problem’.
The Committee took exception to his remarks noting that it had earlier cautioned him against comparing Kenya’s GDP to those of advanced countries with huge economic bases and international investments.
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As at end June 2021, Kenya’s nominal public debt stock stood at Ksh 7.74 trillion (USD 71.52 billion) equivalent to 69.07 per cent of GDP.
This comprises of 52.1 per cent or Ksh 4.04 trillion External debt of total debt and 47.9 per cent Ksh 3.70 trillion Domestic debt.
Other Senators present at the meeting included- Sen Farhiya Ali, Sen Rose Nyamunga and Sen Mutula Kilonzo Jr.
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