Ruto lobbies for Chinese support as Kenya battles debt

President William Ruto with Chinese President Xi Jinping during bilateral talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. [PCS]

President William Ruto's visit to China has him tagging along a wish list that, if fulfilled will see him bag cheaper concessional loans and funding for key infrastructural projects that will also inflate the country's crippling debt burden.

Public debt stood at Sh10.56 trillion as of June this year, having grown from Sh8.58 trillion in June 2022, just three months before President Ruto took over. 

The stock of debt is set further to grow this year with the government planning to borrow Sh761 billion over the 2024/25 financial year, a significant increase from Sh597 billion that it had planned to borrow before the rejection of the Finance Bill 2024.