The office of Auditor General on Thursday, August 3 revealed that Kenya is yet to receive Ksh106 billion in loans committed for the 2022/23 financial year yet some had already hit maturity.
While appearing before the National Assembly Public Debt and Privatization Committee, Deputy Auditor-General Sylvester Kiini revealed that the missing disbursements were identified following scrutiny of the country's debt.
The loans were committed for the 2022/23 financial year but are yet to be received, which means the projects they were budgeted for have since stalled or been abandoned.
"A review of the National Treasury's summary statement of debt stock as of June 30, 2022, revealed that a total of one hundred and six (106) loans denominated in various currencies had not been disbursed. Seven of these loans had reached their maturity dates before being disbursed," Kiini told Parliament.
Kiini told Parliament during the hearing that some of the loans have penalties and commitment fees.
He did not reveal what occasioned the delay in disbursements which raises more questions about the country's borrowing.
MPs have asked the AG's office to provide details of the loans that have not been disbursed and those that will attract penalties.
The AG's office has committed to furnishing the Parliamentary committee with the details including the respective penalties for each loan and the total amount for each loan, converted to local currency.
Treasury documents show that the country borrowed Ksh526 billion in loans in the 2022/23 FY from external markets. A total of Ksh418 billion was borrowed from local banks.
It is unclear whether the Ksh106 billion is part of the loans in Treasury books.
Meanwhile, President William Ruto's administration has lined up Ksh607 billion in loans for this financial year. The loans are intended to finance the Ksh3.6 trillion budget unveiled in June 15.
The majority of the loans will be taken from financial institutions including the World Bank and IMF to an estimate of Ksh270 billion.
