Between June 2023 and June 2024, President William Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza administration allocated Ksh755.9 billion to external debt repayment.

The National Treasury’s Quarterly Economic and Budgetary Review discloses that Ksh537.7 billion was spent on principal payments and Ksh218.1 billion on interest for servicing these debts.

At the same time, the government paid Ksh206 billion for bilateral loans, including Ksh147.4 billion in principal and Ksh58.6 billion in interest.

Specific payments included Ksh197.7 million in principal and Ksh34.1 million in interest to Abu Dhabi, totaling Ksh231.9 million.

Breakdown of loan repayment

Austria received Ksh139.3 million, comprising Ksh112.2 million in principal and Ksh27.09 million in interest while Belgium was paid Ksh2.4 billion, including Ksh2.2 billion in principal and Ksh185 million in interest.

China got payments totaling Ksh152.6 billion, with Ksh100.4 billion for principal and Ksh52.2 billion for interest

Other notable payments include Ksh86.46 million to Denmark, Ksh412.2 million to Finland (Ksh379.4 million in principal and Ksh32.8 million in interest), Ksh19.6 billion to France (Ksh17.6 billion in principal and Ksh1.9 billion in interest), and Ksh5.3 billion to Germany (Ksh4.4 billion in principal and Ksh909.5 million in interest).

Additionally, Ksh112.5 million went to Poland (Ksh91.19 million in principal and Ksh21.39 million in interest), Ksh1.5 billion to India (Ksh1.2 billion in principal and Ksh312.7 million in interest), and Ksh1 billion to Israel (Ksh833.1 million in principal and Ksh182.2 million in interest).

Payments also included Ksh13 billion to Italy (Ksh11.2 billion in principal and Ksh1.8 billion in interest), Ksh6.4 billion to Japan (Ksh5.7 billion in principal and Ksh638 million in interest), and Ksh274 million to Korea (Ksh241.2 million in principal and Ksh33.5 million in interest).

Lastly, the government paid Ksh245.6 million to Kuwait (Ksh208.5 million in principal and Ksh37.1 million in interest) and Ksh328.8 million to Saudi Arabia (Ksh292 million in principal and Ksh36.8 million in interest).

Spain received Ksh1.7 billion (Ksh1.6 billion in principal and Ksh139.9 million in interest), while the USA was paid Ksh357.4 million (Ksh327.8 million in principal and Ksh29.6 million in interest).

Ruto Multilateral Loans

The government spent Ksh109.4 billion to service multilateral loans, with the interests totaling Ksh56.8 billion.

In addition, the International Development Association (IDA) received the largest amount at Ksh62 billion, with Kenya paying a principal of Ksh39.7 billion and an interest of Ksh22.2 billion.

Kenya paid Ksh23 billion to the African Development Bank (ADB) and Asian Development Fund (ADF), with the principal amounting to Ksh9 billion and the interest to Ksh1 billion.

Also, the state paid Ksh344.7 million to the Arab Bank for Economic Development Africa (BAEA), Ksh2.4 billion to the European Economic Community (EEC) and European Investment Bank (EIB), and Ksh943.2 million to the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The interest rates were Ksh79.3 million, Ksh683.5 million, and Ksh75.5 million, respectively.

Others include Ksh106.3 million paid to the Nordic Development Bank (NDF) with the interest being Ksh25.1 million, and Ksh1.1 billion to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) with the interest being Ksh286.9 million.

Notably, Kenya government paid an interest of Ksh11 billion to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Ksh8.3 billion to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Besides, the government spent Ksh440 billion in commercial loans with the principal totaling to Ksh52.6 billion and the interest to Ksh56.8 billion.