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Kenya’s Debt Rose to Ksh 5.53 Trillion Under Rotich’s Tenure

BY Soko Directory Team · July 29, 2019 09:07 am

Suspended Treasury CS Henry Rotich, in his tenure at the National Treasury, increased Kenya’s debt to 5.53 trillion shillings by the end of the financial year in June.

His leadership at the National treasury since 2013 when he was appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta has seen the debt per capita increase to 115,690 shillings by June 2018 up from 42,215 shillings in 2013.

In the just-concluded financial year, the country had borrowed a total of 975.8 billion shillings, half of which was used to pay creditors and the rest were used for development.

According to a statement by the national treasury, some development projects on which the loaned money was spent was president Uhuru’s big four agenda of ensuring people get access to universal health coverage, nutritious food, the building of affordable houses and creation of jobs.

As Kenya’s debt grows bigger and faster, increasing our debt per capita, our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita by the end of the 2018/19 financial year stood at 100,310 shillings, which is a fifteen percent rise from 87,260 shillings.

The accumulation of debt over the six years with Henry Rotich as the CS for treasury has driven the country’s economy to a chain reaction.

Talking about the increasing debt, President Uhuru said that the borrowed money has been channeled towards paying the Eurobond and projects such as the building of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), the building of dams, ports, power lines as well as other infrastructure projects kicked off using this money.

Last year, during an interview, the President said he was confident that as much as the country has incurred debts, the money was put to good use.

“Had we used the money to pay salaries, or on other things that would not, in turn, generate cash, I would be worried,” said the president during a previous interview.

Read Also: On The Wheels of Debts: Kenya Borrowed 208 Billion Shillings in 4 Months

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