Kenya budget to tackle debt, protect economy: Finance Minister

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Kenya’s 2024/25 budget aims to tackle the country’s debt while protecting its fragile economic recovery, with growth estimated at 5.5% in 2024 and 2025, Finance Minister Njuguna Ndung’u said on Thursday.

Presenting the budget in parliament, Ndung’u said the fiscal deficit was expected to be 3.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared with a revised deficit of 5.7% for 2023/24.

Economic growth is expected to be in line with the ministry’s expectation of 5.5% this year from 5.6% in 2023.

“Kenya’s economy is unwinding from layers of negative and persistent shocks,” Ndung’u said, citing the effects of pandemic, and climate change related events such as devastating floods in 2023 and 2024.

He said policy efforts have reduced the cost of living and created vibrancy in an economy that is showing signs of a strong recovery.

Kenya’s total public debt stands at an estimated 68% of GDP for fiscal 2023/24, and is expected to fall to 64.8% in 2024/25, according to the World Bank.

While economist, Vincent Kimosop agreed that the economy showed signs of recovery he also raised the concerns around interests.

Residents in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, feared the expected tax increases will hurt the general population.