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- Aug 5, 2011
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Sep. 18, 2017, 12:30 am
By VICTOR AMADALA@ITSAMADALA
Kenya's principal public debt is threatening to hit Sh5 trillion ceiling by the end of this year, moving from Sh3.82 trillion in December 2016 to Sh4.4 trillion by last month.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya, the country's domestic debt as at last month stood at Sh2.118 trillion while the external debt was Sh2.294 trillion in June.
Figures from the regulator further show that the government's borrowing appetite more than doubled in the first six months of this year compared to the last six months ending December last year.
Whereas country's public debt moved from Sh3.61 trillion in June 2016 to Sh3.82 in December the same year, an increase of Sh0.2 trillion, it increased by a whopping Sh0.52 trillion from January's figure of Sh3.88 trillion to Sh4.40 trillion by June this year.
This means that the government is borrowing at an average of Sh86 billion per month this year compared to Sh55 billion in 2015 and Sh54 billion monthly last year.
The 2017 monthly average so far is the highest since 1999 when CBK started listing the country's public debt.
The figures indicate that each Kenyan owes at least Sh97,000 computed against an average population of about 45 million people according to the latest economic survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
The country's debt continues to surge even as its revenues dwindle.
On Friday last week, Kamau Thugge, the principal secretary in the ministry finance told Reuters that revenue collection for the current fiscal year is behind by $282 million (Sh29 billion) as investors postpone projects due to uncertainty over elections.
In April this year, the International Monetary Fund estimated Kenya's debt-service to revenue-ratio at 34.7 per cent against the threshold of 30 per cent, warning that the country could face the highest inflation if government failed to readjust its spending plan.
Last week, the government maintained its inflation target range at 2.5 to 7.5 per cent for a sixth year running, this even after the country registered the highest inflation rates in previous months.
January's 6.9 per cent remains to be the least inflation rate this year so far, with May's 11.7 per cent being the highest ever.
Each Kenyan to pay Sh97,000 in debt
By VICTOR AMADALA@ITSAMADALA
Kenya's principal public debt is threatening to hit Sh5 trillion ceiling by the end of this year, moving from Sh3.82 trillion in December 2016 to Sh4.4 trillion by last month.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya, the country's domestic debt as at last month stood at Sh2.118 trillion while the external debt was Sh2.294 trillion in June.
Figures from the regulator further show that the government's borrowing appetite more than doubled in the first six months of this year compared to the last six months ending December last year.
Whereas country's public debt moved from Sh3.61 trillion in June 2016 to Sh3.82 in December the same year, an increase of Sh0.2 trillion, it increased by a whopping Sh0.52 trillion from January's figure of Sh3.88 trillion to Sh4.40 trillion by June this year.
This means that the government is borrowing at an average of Sh86 billion per month this year compared to Sh55 billion in 2015 and Sh54 billion monthly last year.
The 2017 monthly average so far is the highest since 1999 when CBK started listing the country's public debt.
The figures indicate that each Kenyan owes at least Sh97,000 computed against an average population of about 45 million people according to the latest economic survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
The country's debt continues to surge even as its revenues dwindle.
On Friday last week, Kamau Thugge, the principal secretary in the ministry finance told Reuters that revenue collection for the current fiscal year is behind by $282 million (Sh29 billion) as investors postpone projects due to uncertainty over elections.
In April this year, the International Monetary Fund estimated Kenya's debt-service to revenue-ratio at 34.7 per cent against the threshold of 30 per cent, warning that the country could face the highest inflation if government failed to readjust its spending plan.
Last week, the government maintained its inflation target range at 2.5 to 7.5 per cent for a sixth year running, this even after the country registered the highest inflation rates in previous months.
January's 6.9 per cent remains to be the least inflation rate this year so far, with May's 11.7 per cent being the highest ever.
Each Kenyan to pay Sh97,000 in debt
