Ruto: Gov’t will start borrowing from Kenyans’ savings

President William Ruto has now announced plans to borrow loans from Kenyans’ savings.

Speaking on Friday, November 24, 2023, Ruto stated that the move is meant to put an end to expensive external borrowing.

While stressing that Kenya should emulate other countries that accumulate savings, Ruto noted that operating with steady savings would help the government borrow money from Kenyans without having to resort to foreigners.

He also assured Kenyans that his administration will ensure that the current percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which stands between 8-10 percent will up to 20-25 percent within the next ten years.

“Mpango yetu katika serikali hii ni kuhahikisha ya kwamba savngs as a percentage of GDP which is now at about 8 or 10 percent, we want to move it to 20 or 25 percent in the next ten years, ili msingi wetu kama taifa tue na hazina na akiba yetu ambayo tumeweka. Sahizi tunakopa pesa nyingi kutoka nchi zingine kwa sababu wao walitutangulia kwa kueka akiba.

“So badala ya sisi kuenda kukopa pesa kutoka watu wengine ambao wameweka akiba tunataka tueke akiba yetu ndio kama serikali inataka kukopa ikope kutoka kwa mama mboga ama kutoka mtu wa boda boda ama mkenya mwengine,” he said.

This loosely translates to:

“Our plan as the government is to ensure that savings as a percentage of GDP which is now at about 8 or 10 percent, should move to 20 or 25 percent in the next ten years so that we have steady savings we can rely on as a country. At the moment, we are borrowing expensively from foreign countries because they got ahead of us in saving.

“Instead of us resorting to borrow loans from foreigners who have saved their money we want to start saving our own cash so that the government can be able to seek loans from Kenyan such as boda boda riders, mama mboga or any other Kenyan,”

Earlier, the President acknowledged that the country was facing ballooned debts because it did not have savings to lean back on like other countries.

The Head of State who was speaking when he attended a church service at Faith Evangelical Ministry in Karen, Nairobi also reiterated that his government will ensure that Kenya does not borrow externally in the next 10 to 15 years.

“Part of the challenge is that we do not have savings and we go to borrow from others who have saved. In 10 to 15 years, we are not going to borrow elsewhere, we will borrow from our own savings,” he said.