The money deducted before it hits Treasury’s pockets, known as non-discretionary spending, will increase from Sh490.5 billion to Sh535.7 billion. “To reduce the refinancing risk, the government’s strategy is to restructure public loans using external and domestic loans of longer-term maturities,” reads the BPS. While the government trumpets its commitment to austerity, Treasury sees the gap between the budget and projected revenues to hit Sh623.8 billion. Treasury noted that Kenya’s risk-to-debt distress has been raised from low to moderate on account of refinancing risks on external debt. Further, the government will ensure future loans from development partners have a grant element of 35 per cent to ensure sustainable level.

Source: Standard Digital January 11, 2019 21:00 UTC