Kenya's auditor general has initiated an investigation into the country's debt to determine the exact amounts owed to various creditors, Finance Minister John Mbadi told Reuters on Monday. Kenya's debt currently stands at 10.5 trillion shillings ($81.71 billion), and this audit was one of the key demands from anti-tax hike protesters, whose demonstrations in June led the government to shelve several proposed tax increases.
Mbadi confirmed that the audit is underway but did not disclose specific details about its scope or when the findings will be released. The auditor general, an independent office established by the constitution, is funded by the state and operates autonomously.
During the peak of the protests, President William Ruto had set up a committee to audit the debt. However, several key appointees, including the president of the Law Society of Kenya, turned down the roles, arguing that the auditor general should handle the task instead.
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In his parliamentary vetting, Mbadi had pledged to ensure greater "debt accountability" to provide the public with a clearer understanding of the nation's borrowing situation.
More than 50 people were killed during the protests, which forced President Ruto to drop the controversial finance law. The unrest also led to multiple credit downgrades by the world's three major ratings agencies.
Currently, a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is in Kenya for a fact-finding mission ahead of its upcoming board meeting, which is expected to review Kenya’s economic program and approve a $600 million disbursement.
(1 USD = 128.5000 Kenyan shillings)
