Treasury Borrows Ksh.512.8 Billion In Six Months

 

By Kepha Muiruri For Citizen Digital

The government through the National Treasury has taken loans rounding off to Ksh.512.8 billion within six months between July 1 and December 31 last year according to new data from the exchequer.

The bulk of the loans at Ksh.468.5 billion comprises of domestic borrowing including roll-overs.

Ksh.44.3 billion meanwhile covers external loans and grants over the six months.

Broken down further, the data shows the National Treasury has taken loans averaging to Ksh.2.79 billion per day.

In contrast, borrowing inside the same period in 2020 stood at Ksh.425.6 billion comprising Ksh.385.8 billion in domestic borrowing and Ksh.39.8 billion in external loans and grants.

This means Kenya has increased its rate of borrowing through the six months by 20.5 per cent.

The country’s insatiable need for huge infrastructure projects has seen its stock of public debt rise in tandem over the last decade.

Data from the National Treasury and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK shows the stock of public debt reached the Ksh.8 trillion mark at the end of September last year compared to Ksh.7.1 trillion a year prior.

The gross stock of domestic debt stands at Ksh.4.02 trillion while that of external debt rounds off to Ksh.4.06 trillion.

The government is now Ksh.1 trillion shy of crossing its self-prescribed public debt limit threshold which will force an upward revision of the ceiling through Parliamentary approval.

Parliament last raised the ceiling in November 2019 when it switched Kenya’s debt limit to an absolute figure of Ksh.9 trillion from a limit of 50 per cent of GDP in net present value (NPV) terms.