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The President's remarks came against a backdrop of growing concern over the amount developing countries are spending to service debt. UNICEF, in its State of the World’s Children 2025 report, said 45 developing countries were spending more on debt interest than on health, while 22 were spending more on interest than education.
The report, Corruption Risk Assessment of Infrastructure Projects in Kenya, indicates that the SGR recorded the highest corruption risk among three major projects reviewed between September 2025 and March 2026.
Edith Siddindo says the increase in billionaires across major economies such as the United States and China, each with over 1,000 billionaires, stands in sharp contrast to millions of people who continue to live from one paycheck to another with little or no savings.
The report shows that the University of Eldoret carries the largest share of unpaid fees at Sh890.9 million. Maasai Mara University follows with Sh596 million, while Dedan Kimathi University has Sh584.2 million in outstanding balances. The auditor notes that a significant portion of the debts has remained unpaid for long periods, increasing the risk of losses.
The previous IMF arrangement ended in March this year, one month before its planned expiry, after the country failed to meet several performance targets, including raising more tax revenue. The collapse of that programme left the State seeking new room for credit at a time when its access to IMF funds is already tight due to nearly maxed-out limits.
The latest findings by the National Assembly Committee on Health show that one year after SHA took over from NHIF, many hospitals have continued to wait for funds that were already approved but never paid.
During the weekend session with the taskforce, Committee Chairperson and Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi stressed the need for a complete account from every devolved unit. He said this would allow the team to produce a final report that covers all counties, especially those with the heaviest backlogs.
According to the latest data from the National Treasury, net borrowing from domestic sources reached Sh339.7 billion, while external lenders contributed Sh98.1 billion. This represents nearly half (48.6%) of the annual borrowing target of Sh901 billion, which is set at Sh613.5 billion for local markets and Sh287.4 billion from external sources.
Treasury data shows that Kenya’s debt to the US dropped sharply to $185.47 million (Sh23.9 billion) by June, from $310.13 million (Sh40 billion) a year earlier. This reduction now places the US behind Belgium and Italy among Kenya’s bilateral lenders, marking a significant shift in debt structure.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said the bond issue will build on a bridge financing programme worth Sh104 billion that government completed recently to help ease liquidity pressures faced by road firms. Out of that amount, Sh93 billion has already been distributed to contractors, allowing many stalled projects to resume and speeding up work at sites that had nearly been abandoned.
CS Mbadi explained that Sh6.33 trillion is domestic debt while Sh5.48 trillion is owed to external lenders, including the World Bank, African Development Bank, China, and Eurobond investors.
During an inspection visit to CUE offices in Gigiri, Nairobi, Members of Parliament voiced concern over the proliferation of forged degrees, insufficient staff, and a Sh935.7 million debt owed to the Commission.