Kenya's debt burden continues to be a matter of concern, and the latest institution to raise a red flag is the Controller of Budget.
Appearing before the Senate Finance Committee yesterday, CoB director of research and planning Joshua Musili said out of the 2019-20 projected Sh1.87 trillion domestic revenue collection, Sh1.1 trillion will go into paying debts.
This leaves only Sh700 billion for development and recurrent expenses.
Musili said it is unreasonable for a country to spend close to 60 per cent of its revenue in debt repayment. For every Sh100 collected, Sh60 goes to service debts.
In its balancing act between debt repayment and budgetary obligations, the National Treasury through, the Kenya Revenue Authority, has been forced to constantly raid Kenyans' pockets through a myriad of taxes.
But you can only tax people so much and there will come a time when Kenyans will revolt against any further taxation.
To get out of this debt maze, the government must prioritise its programmes, cut wastage and deal with open theft.
The increased uptake of commercial loans is slowly but surely driving the country into a debt crisis.
The sooner we cut our cloth according to our size the better.
Quote of the Day: “Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.”
George Washington
The first President of the United States was born on February 22, 1932.
