According to Finance Minister John Mbadi, Reuters on Monday, Kenya’s auditor general has begun looking into the nation’s debt to determine the sums owed to different creditors.
The debt of the East African country is 10.5 trillion shillings ($81.71 billion), but one of the main demands of the anti-tax hike demonstrators was an audit of the borrowings, which compelled the government to renounce several scheduled tax increases in June.
Mbadi stated that the audit has already begun, but he did not elaborate on the investigation’s scope or the anticipated completion date of the report.
The state provides funding for the independent, constitutionally mandated office of the auditor general.
When the demonstrations reached their peak, President William Ruto formed a committee to carry out the audit. However, several appointees, including the head of the Law Society of Kenya, declined the appointments, saying the task should be carried out by the auditor general.
In order to improve public understanding of the issue, Mbadi had pledged to increase “debt accountability” during his parliamentary vetting process.
President Ruto was obliged to renounce the government’s finance law as a result of the protests, which claimed the lives of over fifty people.
The three primary international rating agencies also downgraded several of their ratings as a result of it.
Prior to its board meeting, which will authorize a $600 million transfer and the most recent evaluation of Kenya’s program, an IMF team is in the nation conducting fact-finding.
(Reuters)
