RUTO makes U-turn as he refuses to pay Sh150 billion Eurobond loan despite promising to do so

 

Saturday, December 30, 2023 – President William Ruto may not honour the commitment to repay the Eurobond loan.

In the statement, the National Treasury indicated that Kenya would not make a Ksh150 billion repayment as earlier promised by President William Ruto. 

The Treasury stated that it had only made a payment of Ksh10.8 billion which was interest for the 2014 acquired Eurobond.

Additionally, the Treasury stated that the final coupon payment of the Eurobond will be made alongside the USD2 billion bullet maturity in the last week of June 2024.

“Recently, Kenya successfully executed a payment of USD68.7 million (the equivalent of Ksh 10.8 billion) in interest, a necessary installment on the USD2 billion Eurobond,” the statement read.

The statement signed by the Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u further stated that the timely settlement of interest on Kenya’s Eurobond sent a positive signal to investors.

This statement comes days after neighboring Ethiopia defaulted on paying the interest fee on its USD1 billion Eurobond. 

CS Ndung’u stated that there was a significant increase in the revenue collection for the last six months ending December after a slow start at the beginning of the fiscal year. 

This significant increase, according to the Treasury, is attributed to the government’s tax policy and administrative reforms and would help the country achieve its international obligations in terms of loan repayment. 

In this year’s State of the Nation Address, President William Ruto outlined a plan to repay half of the Ksh315 billion Eurobond by December 2023 six months before its maturity. 

However, the Director General for Public Debt on Wednesday stated that the timing and execution of a buyback would be purely guided by advice from the lead arrangers, Citi and Standard Bank.