Bungoma Senator Mose Wetangula faulted the government for consistently insisting that the country’s debt is manageable when it is actually in turmoil. Last week, the exchequer tabled the 2019 Medium Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS) to parliament that revealed the true nature of the country’s debt obligation. The low grace period exerts pressure on the country’s debt obligation, forcing it to either borrow to repay maturing debt or negotiate for rollovers. Both local and international experts have on various occasions criticised the country’s debt management strategy, with the World Bank and IMF blaming it for paying lip service to its framework on prudent debt management. “Although on paper the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy provides a framework for prudent debt management, it is not clear that it is being followed, considering the sovereign debt trajectory that has kept increasing at a sustained pace over the past years,” the report read.

Source: The Star February 21, 2019 19:52 UTC