Kenya’s Public Debt Hits KSh13 Trillion as Undrawn Loans Attract Billions in Fees
The Controller also wants Treasury and implementing agencies to establish a facility-level monitoring dashboard and an early-warning mechanism for loans facing implementation delays.
Nairobi, Kenya – Kenya’s public debt has reached KSh13 trillion, with concerns raised over billions paid in fees for undrawn loan facilities. The Public Debt and Privatisation Committee questioned the Office of the Controller of Budget about these fees. Between 2015/16 and 2025/26, the Exchequer paid KSh20.066 billion in commitment fees for loans that were not fully used.
This averaged KSh1.824 billion annually, with fees peaking at KSh3.232 billion in 2017/18. Recently, the fees have started increasing again, from KSh1.070 billion in 2024/25 to KSh1.267 billion in 2025/26. The controller of budget, Dr. Margaret Nyakang’o, linked the fees to project delays and poor coordination between loan finance and government readiness.
She suggested that agencies should show project readiness before contracting loans and establish a facility-level monitoring dashboard and early-warning system for delayed projects. The committee asked for a full 10-year reconciliation of the fees, though more time was needed to confirm the data. Nyakang’o emphasized that commitment fees are not just unnecessary costs but a sign of inefficiencies that need fixing.
Written by urgent.news from Capital FM Kenya's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
