In its latest report, the Kenyan Treasury notably takes stock of its external debt and its repayment. Unsurprisingly, the tables reveal that China remains Kenya’s largest bilateral creditor. A debt described by many as “the Chinese debt trap”.
65% of the external bilateral debt contracted by the Kenya is near the China, an amount of more than 6 billion dollars. By comparison, Kenya owes its second largest creditor, Japan, just over a billion.
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A Chinese debt that has been used to finance major infrastructure projects in the country such as major road projects and the Mombasa Naivasha railway line, the now famous SGR.
But if Kenya still owes a lot to China, it notably reimbursed 780 million dollars last year, reveals the Kenyan Treasury. A major effort after a period of suspension granted by Beijing during the Covid period. These reimbursements go hand in hand with an increase in aid from the Bretton Woods institutions, making China the second creditor behind the World Bank.
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Chinese debt figured prominently in the debates during the last presidential election. If the candidate Ruto affirmed during his campaign that Kenya was able to pay this debt, he promised however to lift the foot on Chinese loans as well as the publication of contracts with Chinese companies. Something done, for example, in the wake of his election with the SGR contract.
But these contracts have been denounced by Kenyan entrepreneurs, some even being the subject of legal action.