Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich says Kenya is broke.
He said the government has a budget gap of Sh84 billion even as he intends to present before the Parliament next week, a spending cut for all public servants and government suppliers to bridge the said gap.
The CS appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget on Wednesday where he made the revelations, saying the 2017 general election and the persistent drought slowed down businesses across the country, affecting the country's economy.
Rotich indicated that the government would cut down unproductive expenditures such as on travel, and entertainment for civil servants to save Sh60 billion.
He said Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) had projected Sh1.56 trillion a year ago but it fell short of Sh84 billion, hence the need to reduce spending and cut costs including on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four projects and disbursements to devolved units.
“If we have to slow down some development expenditure, so be it. Something must give, and what is natural here is cutting expenditure," Rotich told the Senate Committee members, adding that Kenya had intentions to spend Sh2.2 trillion this Financial Year.
The revelations came even as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) broke its silence two weeks, warning that Kenya's debt was approaching unsustainable levels at the rate at which new loans are being contracted. IMF said Kenyans would pay Sh323 billion as interest in the 2nd Eurobond.
Opposition's Salim Lone said a whopping Sh4 trillion had been borrowed by the ruling Jubilee government ever since they assumed power in 2013.
Speaking after the Jubilee government through the National Treasury borrowed the Sh200 billion 2nd Eurobond from London, the NASA coalition leader Raila Odinga's adviser wondered where President Uhuru Kenyatta and his administration diverted the funds.
"An astronomical 4 trillion shillings has been borrowed by Uhuru since he took power in 2013! Where did it go? Because ordinary Kenyans are much worse off now than then. But a few pockets got heavier," said Lone.