NAIROBI, Sept 16 (Askume) – Kenya’s auditor general has begun a review of the country’s debt to determine how much is owed to various creditors, Finance Minister John Mbadi told Askume on Monday.
The East African country has a debt of 10.5 trillion shillings ($81.71 billion) but an audit of its borrowing is one of the main demands of anti-tax protesters, forcing the government to abandon plans to raise taxes in June.
Mbadi said the audit has begun but gave no further details on the focus of the investigation or when the report is expected to be ready.
The Auditor General is a constitutionally independent office funded by the state.
During the peak of the protests, President William Ruto appointed a committee to conduct the audit. However, several appointees, including the president of the Kenya Bar Association, rejected the appointment, saying the task should be carried out by the Auditor General.
During a parliamentary review of the situation, Mbadi promised to ensure greater “debt accountability” to help the public better understand the issue.
The protests left over 50 people dead and President Ruto was forced to abandon government financing laws.
This also led to a series of credit downgrades by the world’s three major rating agencies.
A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is meeting at the country’s Executive Board to review the latest developments in Kenya’s programme and approve the allocation of $600 million.
(1 USD = 128.5000 Kenyan Shilling)
