Kenya will not default on its debt and plans to increase its tax collection over the next two years. President William Ruto spoke on Wednesday.
Ruto’s government, which took office in September, has pledged to curb expensive commercial borrowing, turning to cheaper sources such as the World Bank to ease pressure on debt repayment.
The East African country’s sovereign debt soared during an infrastructure construction drive under Ruto’s predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, prompting warnings from rating agencies.
“This country of ours will never fail. I want you to be confident Our country will never default on its debt. We have used (the) brakes on borrowing longer,” Ruto said in an interview with Kenyan media.
He added that the government aims to collect an additional 1 trillion shillings ($8.11 billion) in taxes over the next 24 months. and reiterated plans to reduce borrowing by 300 billion shillings in the current fiscal year until the end of June.
Like other border economies Kenya finds it almost impossible to raise funds from international bond markets in 2022 due to skyrocketing yields.
in june Forced to abandon plans to issue Eurobonds and seek alternative financing
In February last year Fitch said rising levels of sovereign debt and global interest rates had increased the risk of credit downgrades in 10 African countries, with Kenya, Ghana, Lesotho, Namibia, Rwanda and Uganda under threat. the most
($1 = 123.3000 Kenyan Shillings)
