Kenya's domestic debt has hit Ksh5 trillion for the first time in history, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) weekly bulletin released on January 19 shows.
Domestic debt is part of public debt that is payable to creditors within Kenya. As explained by the monetary policy regulator, its management is key to sustained macroeconomic stability.
According to the data, Treasury Bills and Bonds accounted for 95 per cent of Kenya’s total domestic debt standing at Ksh 4.8 trillion.
CBK noted that Treasury Bills amounted to Ksh551 billion while Treasury Bonds stood at Ksh4.3 trillion as of January 12, 2024.
Overdrafts at the Central Bank accounted for 1.82 per cent of the total debt which translated to Ksh91.87 billion.
As outlined in the document, other domestic debt accounted for Ksh126.28 billion of the Ksh5 trillion sum.
“Other domestic debt includes clearing items in transit, advances from commercial banks, and pre-1997 government overdraft,” CBK observed.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) funds on-lent to the government stood at Ksh101 billion representing 2.02 per cent of the total debt.
CBK in the weekly bulletin announced that government domestic debt holders were mainly banking institutions and pension funds.
Other holders included parastatals, insurance companies, and private investors.
Banking institutions control 45.92 per cent of the Ksh5 trillion debt with pension funds accounting for 29.97 per cent.
Insurance companies, parastatals, and other investors account for 7.24 per cent, 5.48 per cent and 11.38 per cent of the domestic debt respectively.
