KENYA ISTAHILI HESHIMA: HOW DARE YOU PROPOSE MORE DEBT AND TAXES WHILE WE LOSE MOST OF OUR PAST REVENUES?

Four in every ten Kenyans are poor, and many more are at risk of falling into poverty unless urgent and decisive action is taken to allocate public resources wisely and spend prudently. Their dreams of a dignified life are constantly shattered, and essential public services, particularly in agriculture, education, health, and other critical sectors, continue to deteriorate.

It is against this backdrop that we, the Okoa Uchumi Campaign, a coalition of civil society organizations advocating for prudent public finance management, have submitted our recommendations on the 2025 Budget Policy Statement (BPS) and the Medium-Term Debt Strategy (MTDS) to the National Treasury, National Assembly, and the Senate. We reiterate the message in this press release. Our submissions have highlighted key concerns regarding Kenya’s growing public debt burden, fiscal deficit, and lack of transparency in budget formulation. The burden of Kenya’s fiscal position falls heavily on the citizens, with the fiscal deficit for FY 2025/26 projected at Ksh.831.0 billion (4.3% of GDP), as per the BPS 2025. However, our computation indicates the deficit could be as high as 5.1%. The government’s revenue projections are overly optimistic, increasing the risk of additional borrowing to cover shortfalls. This seriously threatens economic stability and increases the tax burden on already struggling Kenyan citizens and businesses.