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President William Ruto is claiming that the country was almost being auctioned because of the accumulated foreign debt.

Speaking to residents in Buuri, Meru county on Thursday, January 25, 2024, the president claimed that when he took office, he realised that the previous regime had taken loans which his administration is being forced to repay.

The president also claimed that he had to neglect his other duties to focus on repaying the loan to save the country from being auctioned by foreign lenders.

While claiming that the foreign debt had stretched beyond the country’s capacity to repay, the president faulted the previous regime and the opposition claiming that they were too pre-occupied with ‘Reggae’ that they failed to repay the debt.

“Nimefika ofisini kule nikapata madeni imetoka hapa mpaka kule New York, nikasema wacha nipambane kulipa madeni, wale majamaa walifanya reggae wakasahau kulipa madeni ikapambana, lakini sasa nimemaliza hio kazi, ndio nimekuja kuendesha kazi ya maendeleo na kupanga hii kwa sababu singelipa madeni hii Kenya yetu ingepigwa mnada,” Ruto said.

The president who has for the umpteenth time claimed that the previous administration overborrowed, recently assured Kenyans that the country is secure from foreign debts.

Speaking during his New Year address on January 1, 2024, Ruto lauded his administration for the strides it had taken to relieve the debt burden that was gripping the country.

He also appreciated Kenyans for bearing the tough economic times after he ramped up tax collection to help repay foreign debts.

The Head of State particularly pointed out that some of the interventions that helped repay the load, included cutting expenditure by up to Ksh400 billion and enhancing tax revenue by Ksh600 billion.

“We take pride in the strides we’ve made as a nation. We have triumphed over the threat of economic stagnation and are now in secure space with regard to our sovereign debt obligations.

“Inflation has reduced to 6.8% and our GDP is growing at the rate of 5.4%. 2023 is the year we decided to stop wastage and extravagance, instead opting to live within our means,” Ruto said.