A civil society group has moved to the High Court in Nairobi, seeking to stop the government from taking more loans until the State publishes an official debt register detailing the exact amount of money Kenya owes local and international lenders.
In the petition, Operation Linda Ugatuzi on Thursday, August 10, asked the High Court to order the National Treasury and the Central Bank of Kenya to facilitate the auditing of all loans before the government takes up new facilities.
Led by Professor Fred Ogolla, the nonprofit also wants the court to force government departments to publish the correct debt status after the audit.
"According to the Central Bank of Kenya's official data, which is also official with the Kenya Bureau of Statistics, Kenyan Public Debt is Ksh6.1 trillion. However, the Public Debt authorised by Appropriation Act is Ksh2.001 trillion.
"The State has slotted in over Ksh4.098 trillion into our total public debt, and we are wondering whether this money was borrowed irregularly - without complying with the Appropriations Act, or that the taxpayer is simply paying someone's bills without knowing where they came from," Professor Ogolla claimed.
Professor Ogolla claimed that Parliament in 2014, violated Section 50(7) of the Public Finance Management Act No. 18 of 2012, which gave life to the mandatory constitutional requirement that money received in the form of foreign aid and borrowings by the government should be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
In the petition, Operation Linda Ugatuzi noted that the government has not been transparent about Kenya's public debt stock.
"For instance, a report presented before Parliament itemizes Kenya’s public Debt at Ksh9.182 trillion, whereas Central Bank of Kenya data places Kenya's public Debt at Ksh6.1 trillion," Ogolla stated.
The High Court was told that impugned amendments to Finance Laws have opened the floodgates for government to borrow monies that were otherwise not authorised by any Appropriation Act of Parliament as required by the law.
"Our prayers before the Honourable Court is for the Judge to declare the impugnment of the need for the application of Appropriation Act in all public debt unconstitutional and bring that requirement back to give strength to PAC"
"That Treasury to Account for the Ksh4.098 trillion, which Parliament did not approve to the last coin. That is no more permitted borrowing by President Ruto, who has borrowed Ksh1.5 trillion since he took office with no major project to show until the public debt is fully accounted for," the petition read in part.
"As Operation Linda Jamii, We defend Kenyans irrespective of social status, tribe, political or economic status,
"Even if the Opposition and the government are still in the election and now back to campaign mode, do not be afraid. We shall keep them in check," the petition read in parts.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the country's public debt stock stood at Ksh9.145 trillion ($73 billion) as of December 2022. This is equivalent to 68.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The debt stock is made up of Ksh4.472 trillion ($36 billion) in domestic debt, Ksh37.88 billion ($303 million) in publicly-guaranteed debt, and Ksh4.236 trillion ($34 billion) in external debt.
The domestic debt is held by a variety of creditors, including commercial banks, pension funds, and individuals. The publicly-guaranteed debt is debt that has been guaranteed by the government, but which is not actually owed by the government.
The external debt is owed to foreign creditors, such as governments, banks, and investors.
