Prof. Njuguna Ndung'u, Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS), claims that despite global shocks that are upending economies worldwide, Kenya's national debt, which has surpassed the Ksh.9.4 trillion threshold, is still manageable.
Ndung'u remarked that the costs of servicing the debt have increased due to high-interest rates and the devaluation of the Kenyan shilling versus key world currencies while presenting the 2023–24 budget before Parliament on Thursday.
"Furthermore, the depreciation of the currency has increased the size of the public debt stock as half of the public debt is actually denominated in foreign currency," the speaker continued.
The CS continued that Kenya would honour its debt obligations despite the country's growing public arrears.
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Kenya hasn't accrued debt service arrears and the administration is dedicated to paying off all public debt commitments when they become due, according to Ndung'u.
He also mentioned that to improve the nation's debt sustainability ratio, the State intends to cut back on spending this fiscal year.
"Over the medium term, revenue-driven fiscal consolidation policy stands are expected to further improve the country's debt sustainability ratio and debt carrying capacity," said the CS.
