A new report has revealed that Kenya acquired 36 new foreign loans totalling Sh898 billion in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, raising concerns about the country’s debt sustainability.
According to the Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG), these loans were sourced from multilateral lenders (27), commercial banks (six), and bilateral lenders (three).
The report says debt repayment remains a significant challenge, with Sh330 billion due in 2024 and over Sh1.5 trillion scheduled to be repaid between 2025 and 2027.
Principal repayments exceeded Sh500 billion in the past year alone, highlighting Kenya’s growing debt burden.
“In the financial year 2023-2024, the government took out 36 new foreign loans amounting to Sh898 billion. 27 were from multilateral lenders, six from commercial banks and three from bilateral lenders. Last year Kenya paid over half a trillion shillings in external principal repayments, in 2024 over Sh3.30 billion falls due. Between 2025 and 2027, the National Treasury must repay over Sh1.5 trillion to foreign creditors,” reads the report.
The report also criticises the government for a lack of transparency in debt management, noting that both the public and Parliament are excluded from critical consultations on debt contracts.