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Ruto also said he had delivered Kenya’s economy from what he termed as the trenches it was in when he took over power in September 2022.
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The president cited the price of the US dollar against the shilling, which went down last month.
Image: FILE
President William Ruto has said that the government has made a commitment to reduce debt.
He, however, said that the country will focus on its generation of revenue.
Speaking during a developmental tour in Kericho, the president said that he shall continue to stabilise the economy as he promised.
"I promised you that we shall stabilise the economy, and I said that we cannot continue with borrowing to accumulate debt. A time has come as Kenyans to have a national and candid conversation on whether we shall continue to expose our country to the risk of excessive debt or we must raise our own resources," he said.
"I am very proud of Kenyans that we have made a commitment that we are going to reduce on debt and we are going to build more on our own raising of revenue."
Ruto also said he had delivered Kenya’s economy from what he termed as the trenches it was in when he took over power in September 2022.
The president cited the price of the US dollar against the shilling, which went down last month.
“Kenya’s economy was in the trenches but I have saved it. Now, as you can see, even the dollar price has gone down and things are in order,” Ruto said.
His sentiments come after Kenya, in February Kenya successfully issued a new Eurobond worth $1.5 billion (Sh238 billion) to buy back the inaugural one due on June 24.
The National Treasury said the new loan divided into three instalments has a weight average life of six years and is expected to mature in 2031.
The bond is priced at 10.37 per cent, the highest rate an African state has ever offered.
The President has on several occasions mentioned that the country is out of debt distress and the economy is stabilising.
He said that it has been achieved after the country reduced expenditure and negotiated packages with IMF and bilateral countries.
The President said that the money that was negotiated at 2 and 3 per cent is being repaid at 15 and 16 per cent.
"The biggest killer on our debt is the amount of interest we are paying, it is not even the principle that is a big problem. That is what is destroying our economy. We are not increasing the debt portfolio, we are substituting debt that is expensive so that it is manageable to give us space to grow our economy," he said.