After securing a $2bn Eurobond, each Kenyan now owes $1,000 in public debt

david nganga

February 24, 2018 11:48 AM

Kenya's public debt has tripled in less than six years since Uhuru took over power

Kenyas growing appetite for borrowing was brought to the fore earlier in the week after the government secured a Sh200 billion ($2 billion) loan from international lenders in form of a Eurobond.

The issuance of the loan has now seen Kenya sink into a Sh4.8 trillion debt which means every citizen owes the lenders Sh100,000, assuming the population stands at 48 million people.

From a debt of Sh1.79 trillion in March 2013, Thursday’s confirmation of the latest Eurobond means the debt has tripled in less than six years. On average, every year since 2013, the Government has needed a debt of Sh630 billion to run.

Domestic debt has hit Sh2.22 trillion, from Sh982 billion in 2013, when President Kenyatta took power.

On external debt, China has increased its influence through projects such as the SGR. In March 2017, the external debt was Sh812.7 billion.

The 2017 Budget Review and Outlook for 2018/2019 shows that the financing gap in Kenya’s next budget will rise again.

Last week, credit ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Kenya’s debt rating to B2 from B1 while officials were in the middle of the bond roadshow abroad, angering the government.

On the other hand, the International Monetary Fund said it had frozen Kenya’s access to a $1.5 billion standby facility last June, after failure to agree on fiscal consolidation and delay in completing a review.

david nganga