• Kosgei says the country has a big problem as far as borrowing is concerned.
• Decries wastage and corruption in government.
Image: ENOS TECHE
It has now reached a point where the government is spending nearly as much as they are collecting in taxes to service debts. In 2017, they spent Sh600 billion on loan repayments. In 2018 the Jubilee administration spent Sh800 billion and it has now hit the Sh1 trillion mark. The struggling Kenya Revenue Authority collects about Sh1.5 trillion every year.
In March, KRA released their nine months results, which showed that they had collected Sh1 trillion and they were projecting that by the end of 12 months, that is by the end of June, they would hit Sh1.5 trillion. So we are spending nearly all of that collection repaying loans, next year, it might even be higher.
So where have we reached as a country? If we did a graph showing debt repayments from Sh600 billion to Sh800 billion to Sh1 trillion upwards, anybody would say this is the wrong direction. The sums we spend on loans is getting out of control. So, the question we should ask (President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto) is, can they be honest and tell us there is a problem?
Secondly, our risk, in terms of risk assessment has now been affected. We have been ranked as a more risky country from low to medium and it can actually move to high. Kenya has been ranked as a medium risk country to lend money. Even countries that used not to have a problem lending to Kenya, like China, are now unhappy because of this situation. So basically, we have a very big problem as far as borrowing is concerned.
On the other side of the coin, we still have a lot of wastage that is taking place in government. Under retired President Daniel Moi, the highest State House budget was Sh400 million. Under President Mwai Kibaki it was Sh1.3 billion and now under Uhuru Kenyatta, it has now jumped to Sh8 billion. It is obvious that Kenyatta and Ruto have gone overboard in wasting precious public cash.
It is strange that Kenyatta and Ruto are the first to tell hungry and poor Kenyans to tighten their belts. That they are putting in place austerity measures, yet they, themselves seems to be spending money like drunken sailors. Their financial recklessness has no precedent. This has made Kenyans, and even us in Parliament, be very angry and worried. We ask ourselves how do we sanction this when you can see clear wastage and corruption. This administration is spending money as if there is no tomorrow.
The Emgwen MP spoke to the Star