Kenya will not default on its debt: President Ruto

NAIROBI: Kenya will not default on its debt, President William Ruto said on Wednesday.

"This country of ours will not default. I want to give you my assurance. Our country will not default on our obligations. We have applied (the) brakes on any more borrowing," he said in a joint interview with Kenyan media houses.

Ruto's government, which took over in September, has said it plans to cut expensive commercial borrowing in favour of cheaper sources like the World Bank to reduce debt servicing pressures.

Like other frontier economies, Kenya found it almost impossible to raise funds from international bond markets in 2022 due to a surge in yields.

It was forced to cancel in June the planned issuance of a second Eurobond for the last financial year and is now seeking alternative sources of funding.

In February last year, Fitch said rising government debt levels and global interest rates were increasing the risk of credit rating downgrades in as many as 10 African countries, with Kenya, Ghana, Lesotho, Namibia, Rwanda and Uganda most at threat.