Audio By Vocalize
A notable gain of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution is the enactment of the Access to Information Act, which operationalises the rights set out in Article 35. The law, which came into force on September 21, 2016, affirms the principle that citizens are entitled to obtain information held by public authorities and, where relevant, by private bodies. In doing so, it seeks to strengthen transparency and public accountability.
Public institutions are therefore under a legal obligation to disclose information upon request by any Kenyan citizen, subject to limited exceptions, thereby enabling greater scrutiny of state decisions.
The drawback of this act is that it may render complex matters of state accessible to audiences lacking the requisite context or expertise, thereby increasing the risk of misunderstanding, misinformation, and disinformation. Moreover, it may be susceptible to appropriation by post-truth populists seeking to advance narrow political agendas.
The debate over public debt offers a telling example. Kenya’s liabilities did indeed swell under the Jubilee administration to levels that raised credible fears about the country’s ability to meet its sovereign obligations. Debt service-to-revenue ratios climbed beyond 60 per cent at times. Large repayments on commercial borrowings, mostly the Eurobonds issued under the Kenyatta years, combined with tightening liquidity, created a precarious fiscal moment.
Treasury CS John Mbadi has since sought to smooth the country’s debt profile. His strategy is to reduce dependence on costly, short-term commercial borrowing and pivot towards cheaper, longer-dated concessional finance. In practice, this means active liability management: Refinancing expensive debt, extending maturities, and easing the immediate strain on the national budget.
Such manoeuvres are not easily grasped outside Treasury’s corridors. Liability management operations typically involve replacing high-cost obligations with cheaper borrowing, sometimes through new Eurobond issues or other external financing. To the average citizen, the distinction between refinancing and fresh profligacy is obscure. What they see is simply more borrowing, an impression that some politicians are quick to inflame, often eliding the difference between prudent debt management and reckless accumulation.
The Kenya Kwanza administration has also explored divesting stakes in mature State assets to finance development. A prominent example is Safaricom, the country’s leading integrated telecommunications provider. Authorities are in the process of selling a 15 per cent stake to Vodacom Group of South Africa. Critics, some with a limited grasp of capital markets, warn that such a sale risks eroding national sovereignty and that the shares should instead be offered to local investors via the NSE.
Yet this critique overlooks the logic of a strategic investor. A direct placement with Vodacom avoids flooding the market with new shares, which could depress prices. It also lowers underwriting costs and secures valuable foreign-currency inflows. Crucially, the State retains meaningful influence. Even after the transaction, it would hold roughly 20 per cent of Safaricom and maintain representation on the company’s board.
In line with the Access to Information Act, Mr. Mbadi has been notably forthcoming about developments at the Treasury. Appearing regularly on television and radio and even at the Bunge la Wananchi, he has sought to elucidate complex fiscal matters. Given such openness, one wonders what motive animates those who continue to cast doubt on him and the Treasury.
Mr. Khafafa, public policy analyst
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By Leonard Khafafa