World Bank projects Kenya's economy to slow amid huge public debt

Kenya’s real GDP growth had accelerated last year to 5.6 per cent. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

Kenya’s economic growth will slow to five per cent this year after a “robust” performance in 2023, the World Bank has said.

The East African powerhouse has been saddled by huge public debt, high inflation and the introduction of numerous new levies and tax hikes by President William Ruto’s cash-strapped government.

The World Bank said in a report that while Kenya’s real GDP growth had accelerated last year to 5.6 per cent from 4.9 per cent in 2022, it was expected to slow to five per cent this year.

The recovery of the key agricultural sector - following improved weather conditions - drove 2023’s growth, the report said, with tourism also contributing to a stronger showing.

However, it said Kenyan exports had significantly underperformed, noting “the country has not diversified its products in recent years and has lost competitiveness in the markets to which it exported”.

The World Bank report comes just a week before Ruto’s government is due to present its budget to parliament on June 13.

The government is projecting a 4.25-trillion-shilling ($32-billion) budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, up from 3.6 trillion shillings the previous year.

Kenyan authorities forecast an average GDP growth of 5.2 per cent between 2024 and 2026.