Titled Kenya Economic Update 2024, the World Bank indicated that the overall credit to the private sector decreased from 5 per cent in August 2023 to -0.5 per cent in August 2024.
This negatively impacted the economy as it led to reduced investment and thus affecting small and medium enterprises that heavily rely on loans for their operations. The World Bank attributed the low credit to the high domestic borrowing spree and increased interest rates that have increasingly piled pressure on the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
Recently, reports indicated that banks had ignored the CBK’s call to lower their lending rates meaning that consumers would not enjoy the benefits of lower interest rates.
“High government domestic borrowing coupled with high real interest rates is crowding out the private sector as sectors experience weaker credit growth,” the report read in part.
At the same time, the agricultural sector dropped from 10 per cent last year to 5 per cent in August 2024. Manufacturing also experienced a similar fate as it declined from the high of 15 per cent in January this year to -14 per cent by August this year.
The bank emphasised that Kenya’s debt status remains at high risk of distress but indicated a slight reduction in the debt-to-GDP ratio due to the appreciation of the shilling.
This, according to the World Bank, reduced the value of external debt in local currency terms.
In the report, the World Bank also downgraded Kenya’s economic growth from an initial 5 per cent to 4.7 per cent, highlighting the effects of anti-government protests, floods and struggling fiscal policies.
“Debt vulnerabilities including elevated debt servicing costs, accumulated pending bills, and missing revenue targets remain key challenges,” the bank stated.
By Brian Kimani