Kenyans are upset that the cost of living keeps rising. Now presidential economy adviser David Ndii has said on Sunday that he wishes that Azimio had won the 2022 election because the debt burden makes management of the economy almost impossible.
Ndii is right in that the national debt rose from $12 billion in 2012 to $72 billion in 2022. The crippling Eurobond repayment of $2 billion due in 2024 is just part of this debt overhang. The depreciation of the Kenya shilling to 155 to the US dollar has only made matters worse.
The good thing is that the money was not completely wasted (as in Ghana where President Akufo Addo has racked up $14 billion in extra debt since 2017 with virtually nothing to show for it). At least in Kenya, we have the SGR, the Nairobi Expressway and other flagship projects.
Ndii does not really wish Azimio had won. He wants to fix the economy. He says that government will do everything to avoid default. There is still a job to be done but it is not an easy job.
Quote of the day: “Peace if possible, truth at all costs.”
Martin Luther
The German theologian posted his 95 Theses in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517
