Report: Public debt payments starving hospitals and schools

Kenya is now spending more money to service its public debt than on education, health and social protection combined, a new report has shown. This pattern is evidence to a dramatic squeeze on public services which is  affecting the ordinary citizens the most.

The report, titled “The People’s Audit: Reclaiming Kenya’s Fiscal Sovereignty” and produced by the Okoa Uchumi coalition of civil society groups, uses official data to track the fiscal trade-off. It found that “debt service obligations now consume more than half of all revenues,” a figure that reached 52 per cent of government revenue in the 2023/24 financial year.

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Kenya is now spending more money to service its public debt than on education, health and social protection combined, a new report has shown. This pattern is evidence to a dramatic squeeze on public services which is  affecting the ordinary citizens the most.

Follow The Standard
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on WhatsApp