Kenya’s budget deficit is forecast to fall in the 2019-20 fiscal year, while overall spending will rise, the Finance Ministry said on Friday. The deficit was forecast to fall further to three per cent of GDP in 2022-23. The policy statement said overall spending would rise to 2.70 trillion shillings ($26.56 billion) in 2019-20 from a revised 2.51 trillion shillings in the previous fiscal year. To cover the deficit, the government will borrow Sh271.4 billion from the domestic market in 2019-20 and 306.5 billion shillings from foreign sources, the ministry said. The East African nation’s government increased borrowing and spending recently, leaving it with a fiscal deficit that peaked at 6.8 percent in the fiscal year ending in June 2018.

Source: The Star January 11, 2019 09:56 UTC