The National Treasury has detailed loans and grants it intends to take to finance various projects in President Uhuru Kenyatta's final budget.
In the 2022/2023 budget estimates for development expenditure seen by Kenyans.co.ke, it was revealed that Japan would be Kenya's biggest lender during the financial year that starts July 1.
The government appropriates that it will receive Ksh31,110,167,854 from the government of Japan.
Kenya's second-biggest lender will be the government of China which is estimated to loan the country Ksh29,459,000,000 while France is appropriated to finance the over Ksh3 trillion budget with a Ksh23,363,935,788 loan.
Other loans Kenya will take from other countries include; Belgium (Ksh4,561,124,881),South Korea (Ksh3,686,000,000), Spain (Ksh2,656,000,000), Denmark (Ksh1,549,929,500), and Sweden (Ksh1,077,731,000).
Additionally, Treasury revealed that the loans will fund various projects being undertaken in various Ministries and State departments.
Out of the Ksh31 billion from Japan, Ksh17 billion will go to the State department of infrastructure under the Ministry of Transport while the Ministry of Energy will get a share of over Ksh9 billion.
Apart from loans from foreign governments, Kenya will also seek funding from global financial institutions.
From the estimates, it was disclosed that the government will borrow over Ksh100 billion from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Notably, Treasury did not disclose the interest at which the loans will be offered. However, while presenting the 2022/2023 budget in parliament on April 7, Treasury CS Ukur Yatani stated that the government was opting for loans with low interests.
"Kenya's debt carrying capacity is rated moderate and the overall public debt is sustainable. We have initiated the implementation of a set of measures to lower cost and risk in the public debt portfolio.
"The preferred debt financing are highly concessional loans offered at below-market interest rates with long repayment periods. Recourse to commercial borrowing has been maintained at minimum levels," he stated.
Here is a list of top 10 loans Kenya will get from these foreign countries;
1. Japan - Ksh31,110,167,854
2. China -Ksh29,459,000,000
3. France - Ksh23,363,935,788
4. Germany - Ksh14,423,512,807
5. Italy - Ksh6,065,700,000
6. Belgium - Ksh4,561,124,881
7. South Korea - Ksh3,686,000,000
8. Spain - Ksh2,656,000,000
9. Denmark - Ksh1,549,929,500
10. Sweden - Ksh1,077,731,000
