Kenya plans to target a fiscal deficit of 7.0 percent of GDP in its financial year starting in July, down from 9.6 percent of GDP this fiscal year, the Treasury said in a draft budget.
Kenya plans to target a fiscal deficit of 7.0 percent of GDP in its financial year starting in July, down from 9.6 percent of GDP this fiscal year, the Treasury said in a draft budget.
The draft, seen by Reuters on Friday, projects the deficit at 582.5 billion shillings ($5.63 billion), down from an estimated 716.9 billion this fiscal year.
The Treasury said the deficit would be covered by 206.0 billion shillings in net external borrowing while the rest will come from domestic borrowing.
The government was committed to lowering the fiscal deficit to 5.2 percent of GDP in the 2018/19 fiscal year and 4.0 percent in the medium term, the Finance Ministry said.
"This reduction will strengthen our debt sustainability position," the ministry said, adding economic growth was expected at 5.9 percent this year from an estimated 6.0 percent last year.
Financial markets participants and the opposition have criticised the government of President Uhuru Kenyatta for raising borrowing in the last four years to spend on a range of infrastructure projects such as a new railway and roads.
Kenyatta is running for a second and final five-year term in an election set for Aug. 8. He is widely expected to face his main rival Raila Odinga, although a united opposition, bringing together the main parties, has not yet said who will challenge Kenyatta.
Lawmakers are expected to peruse the draft budget in the next few weeks, before the finance minister presents the final budget, which will include any changes brought by parliamentarians and agreed upon by the Treasury.
The East African nation usually unveils its budget in mid-June but it has brought it forward due to the August vote. ($1 = 103.5500 Kenyan shillings)
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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