Report: Public debt payments starving hospitals and schools

John Mbadi Cabinet Secretary, The National Treasury and Economic Planing chats with The Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang'o during 2025 medium term debt management strategy (MTDS).[Wilberforce Okwiri,Standard]

Kenya is now spending more money to service its public debt than on education, health and social protection combined, a new report has shown. This pattern is evidence to a dramatic squeeze on public services which is  affecting the ordinary citizens the most.

The report, titled "The People’s Audit: Reclaiming Kenya’s Fiscal Sovereignty" and produced by the Okoa Uchumi coalition of civil society groups, uses official data to track the fiscal trade-off. It found that "debt service obligations now consume more than half of all revenues," a figure that reached 52 per cent of government revenue in the 2023/24 financial year.