Kenya’s public debt rises by Sh925bn

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 21 – Kenya’s gross public debt rose by Shs925bn in 2021, latest data by the Government indicated noting that debt rose from Shs 7,281.8 billion in December 2020 to Shs 8,206.7 billion in December 2021.

The National Treasury has attributed the rise in debt to external loan disbursements and increased uptake of domestic debt which comprised 50.9 and 49.1 percent respectively.

The stock of gross domestic debt increased by Shs 543.8 billion to Shs 4,032.4 billion while external debt rose by USD 2,149.2 million from USD 34,746.0 million to USD 36,895.2 over the same period.

“The increase in the public debt is attributed to external loan disbursements; exchange rate fluctuations; and uptake of domestic debt during the period. The net public debt was Shs 7,745.5 billion by end of the period under review,” it said in its quarterly economic and budgetary report.

Of all the external debt, monies from multilateral financial institutions including International Monetary Fund and World Bank rose by Shs241.8 million while debt from bilateral sources, mainly China, Japan, and France declined by Shs56.8 million.

Sixty-seven percent of Kenya’s bilateral debt is owed to China, more than a triple of the 13 percent share it had in 2011.

In the three months to December 2021, Kenya made the highest debt service to commercial lenders at Sh37,406,  compared to bilateral and multilateral lenders which received Sh26,714 and Sh15,926  respectively.

China accounted for 70 percent of all bilateral debt repayment at Sh18,697 followed by Italy and Belgium which were paid Sh 4,387 million and Sh962 million respectively.

Overall, the total cumulative debt service payments to external creditors amounted to KSh. 137.3 billion. This comprised of Shs 80.0 billion (58.3 percent) principal and Shs57.3 billion (41.7 percent) interest.