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· Kenya’s public debt had marginally increased to KSh 6.6 Trillion at the end of May as against KSh 6.4 trillion in April 2020 and KSh 6 trillion in February this year
· Of the total debt of KSh 6.6 trillion, domestic borrowing stood at KSh 3.2 trillion as of May this year
· External borrowings were at KSh 3.49 trillion.
Kenya’s public debt had marginally increased to KSh 6.6 Trillion at the end of May as against KSh 6.4 trillion in April 2020 and KSh 6 trillion in February this year. This was revealed by the Central Bank of Kenya in its latest weekly bulletin.
Fiscal analysts have expressed their concern about the vaulting public debt of the country despite the establishment of a Public Debt Management Office. This is an independent unit within the Treasury, vested with powers, among other things, to limit the borrowing by the government.
Of the total debt of KSh 6.6 trillion, domestic borrowing stood at KSh 3.2 trillion as of May this year. External borrowings were at KSh 3.49 trillion.
Commercial banks are the biggest holders of government domestic debt instruments at 54.93%. This was followed by pension funds at 29.01%, Insurance companies at 6.04%, parastatals 5.73% and other investors have an exposure of 4.29%.
Among the debt instruments, treasury bonds remain as the favorite instrument for the state. As of 10th July 2020, treasury bonds constituted 69.78% of Government domestic debt, followed by Treasury bills at 28.49%,CBK Overdraft to government 0.98% and other domestic debt 0.75%.
