Exposed: Hidden Flaw in Ksh 213B Loans to Kenya Revealed by Parliament
According to a report by the Public Debt and Privatisation Committee of the National Assembly, loans from international financiers totaling more than Ksh180 billion had not yet been repaid.
The report presented on the House floor on Thursday indicates that a total of Ksh213.24 billion was borrowed during the period spanning from May 2022 to April 2023.
However, the fact that only Ksh24.2 billion was disbursed during that period caused concern among the members of parliament. As it would impede the credit’s punctual repayment.
Conversely, it was specified that certain state departments and ministries were not repaying loans that were intended for specific initiatives.
“During the review of the loan reports. It was noted that only three loans totaling Kshs24.2 billion had been partially disbursed. Indicating a disbursement rate of less than 11 percent. Which was utilized in general budget support,” Abdi Shurie, the Committee Chairperson and Balambala MP informed the August House
MPs remarked that the vulnerabilities of the loopholes were placing the nation in a perilous position. As some of the loans would mature before their appropriate utilization.
The Members of Parliament therefore recommended that the Treasury provide expeditious reports. So that the disbursements could be monitored by the legislature.
Additionally, it was recommended that Treasury CS Njuguna Ndungu formulate and elucidate the tactics he would utilize. Inorder to guarantee the punctual disbursement of the loans.
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“The report also suggests that within 90 days, the National Treasury should fully digitize the loan approval monitoring system. To enhance reporting, transparency, and accountability,” the chair reported.
The majority leader of the National Assembly, Kikuyu Member of Parliament Kimani Ichung’wah, also endorsed the legislators’ new initiative, stating that it would facilitate the formulation of policies for future loans.
“These reports will help to inform the House of the level of debt in the country and to gauge whether, in the subsequent financial year, the country will enter into more debt than it was in the particular year of reporting.
“The timely submission and consumption of reports by the House will help to inform ourselves and the Country where we are in terms of our debt levels so that we don’t find ourselves in a position where we continuously continue getting into debt problems without knowledge because we don’t have timely information”, the Majority Party Leader added and urged the National Treasury to submits its reports every quarter.
At the moment, Kenya’s debt portfolio is valued at Ksh10 trillion.
Exposed: Hidden Flaw in Ksh 213B Loans to Kenya Revealed by Parliament
