Kenya expects to spend nearly Sh2 trillion on debt repayments over the next financial year, exerting further pressure on the government.

According to budget estimates tabled in Parliament last Wednesday, the government will spend a total of Sh1.9 trillion in repayment of both domestic and foreign debts over the 2025/26 financial year, of which Sh1.097 trillion will be on interest payments as another Sh803 billion will be on debt redemption.

Debt servicing will gobble up a significant chunk of the money that the government expects to rake in through taxes, with ordinary revenues or money the Kenya Revenue Authority will collect through taxes over the next financial year expected to be in the region of Sh2.84 trillion. At Sh1.9 trillion, debt servicing will take 66.9 per cent of ordinary revenue, leaving the government with little to spend on essential services, including supporting the public wage bill.