Kenya’s total Public Debt rose to KSh 6.6 Trillion at the end of May this year compared to KSh 6.4 Trillion in April 2020 and KSh 6 Trillion in February this year.
Kenya’s bulging public debt load is getting heavier even with the establishment of a Public Debt Management Office, an independent unit within the Treasury.
Figures from the Central Bank of Kenya(CBK) latest weekly bulletin show that out of this debt load, total cash borrowed from the domestic market stood at KSh 3.2 Trillion as at May this year while external borrowings stood at KSh 3.49 Trillion.
CBK’s weekly data places commercial banks as the biggest holders of Government domestic debt instruments at 54.93%, followed by pension funds at 29.01%. Insurance companies hold 6.04% of Govt domestic debt, parastatals( 5.73%) while other investors hold 4.29%.
Treasury Bonds remains the favourite instrument for the state when seeking funds from the domestic money market.
As at 10th July, 2020, Treasury Bonds made up 69.78% of Government domestic debt, followed by Treasury bills (Excluding Repos) at 28.49%,CBK Overdraft to Government 0.98% and Other domestic debt 0.75%.
