Kenya will turn largely to local loans to fund its budget deficit, a departure from expensive commercial loans that have sent the country’s public debt to the roof. He said that the focus would be on strengthening the management of public debt to minimise cost and risks of the portfolio while accessing external concessional funding to finance development projects. Even so, the government will be forced to borrow slightly above 30 per cent of its Sh2.79 trillion budget for 2020/21 even as the public debt pile. ''Whereas Kenya’s public debt remains sustainable, we need to be cautious about future debt accumulation,’’ Yatani said. Kenya’s debt appetite for the past seven years has worried both local and international observers, a move that may have forced the government to go slow.

Source: The Star June 12, 2020 06:00 UTC