Follow CGSP on Social Media

Listen to the CGSP Podcast

Forget About Repayment Holidays, Kenya Wants Its Creditors (Ahem… China) To Cancel Some of Its Debts

by Eric Olander

The Kenyan Treasury is reportedly considering a new plan to approach its creditors to ask for outright cancellation of some of its debt, according to a report in Business Daily. Although a final decision has yet to be made, the Treasury is apparently considering the option to approach both multilateral and bilateral creditors for debt forgiveness.

Tax revenue is simply not providing sufficient revenue for the government to service its debts. In the four-month period to October, debt servicing costs consumed 58% of all revenue. Meantime, tax revenue fell by 14% during that same period due to worsening economic conditions.

Lead the Conversation on China

Subscribe Today to Get Full Access to The China-Global South Project

Check Out Everything You'll Get With Your Subscription

The China-Global South Daily Brief delivered to your inbox at 6AM Washington time

Full access to exclusive news and analysis from editors based in the Global South

Transcripts of CGSP’s twice-weekly podcasts

Students and teachers with a valid .edu email address are eligible for a 50% discount off monthly or yearly subscriptions. Email us to receive a discount code.

You Might Like

Latest World Bank Debt Report Prompts Renewed Concern About Kenya, Ethiopia

Journalists and analyst have been poring through the World Bank’s latest report on global debt that was published last month. Two African countries in particular, Kenya and Ethiopia, stand ...

It Can Be Hard to Tell If Kenya Is Managing Its Debts Well or If It’s In Danger of Debt Distress… Or Both

Confusing, even contradictory messages have been coming out over the past week about Kenya’s debt sustainability. On the one hand, the Treasury is reporting that debt servicing obligations have fallen ...

Kenya Now in the Grip of Worsening Debt Crisis, President Rules Out Default

Kenya’s public employees are threatening to go on strike unless the government pays their overdue salaries. Civil servants did not get paid last month due to a financial crisis brought on by the country’s ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.