It is imbecilic to plan to feed your family based on what you found in your neighbours granary. Sadly though, it appears like this is the path our leaders have chosen to walk us through. Borrowing is not necessarily bad, but it must be done with a lot of caution. It is worrisome that the jubilee administration in two years borrowed Sh874.5 billion, more than what the predecessor regime borrowed (sh738billion) in their last term. And government’s appetite for external borrowing is not waning, if further plans to borrow sh 569 billion in the current budget are anything to go by.  A child born in Kenya today shoulders a debt burden of sh 62,000. If current borrowing continues unabated, this burden is likely to shoot to sh 71,000 in 2016, assuming an average population of 42 million.

But where is this money going you may ask? Funding mega-infrastructure projects is the speak, but the truth is, not all of it is invested in courses that truly seek to addresses the core challenges facing Kenya and Kenyans. Some of it inevitably finds its way into the pockets of a few corrupt individuals, some of who the system has chosen to defend fiercely tooth and nail. What with a miscarried anti-graft body that has been forced to its knees by the unrelenting efforts of both the executive and legislature? In fact, Kenyans should brace themselves for more corruption scandals as the current crop of leaders connive to amass resources in readiness for the 2107 general elections.

With a soaring and unsustainable wage bill coupled with high inflation, one would have expected our handlers to be extra vigilant in enforcing austerity measures that help our economy stay on a steady growth path. On the contrary though, MPs are on record for demanding higher pay and benefits, at sh 1.99 million a month, higher than what the president currently earns at 1.7 million. The auditor general’s report indicated that the bulk of money allocated to counties was spent on inadmissible courses, such as funding many ‘useless’ foreign trips. This insatiable greed inherent in public servants implies the government will be forced to continue borrowing in perpetuity, and deserves highest condemnation from all sane patriotic citizens. No wonder the shilling has continually lost its worth against the dollar and pound, uncontrollably sliding past the two digit mark in recent times. 

IMF and World Bank have recently raised the red flag over Kenya’s  debt, warning that Kenya finds alternatives to financing her infrastructure away from loans. Kenya’s debt load crossed the 50 per cent of GDP mark late last year to stand at Sh2.11 trillion or 57 per cent of GDP by end of December 2013. The Bretton Woods institutions recommend that the debt ratio be kept at not more than 50 per cent of the GDP, advice that may not auger well with the current administration. In moves that could easily qualify for modern day barter trade, some African countries have recently signed concessions with developed economies such as China, to fund major infrastructure projects in exchange for exploitation of their rich mineral resources. It would not be surprising if the seemingly tight relationship between Kenya and China bordered along these lines.  

In conclusion, a father who cannot teach his family to live within his means is not only a failure to his family, but a disgrace to society. Kenya is not a poor country, but a rich country with millions of people condemned to live in poverty and exclusion by their selfish leaders. Someone needs to speak truth to our decision makers: that their choices and decisions have hard hitting consequences. Isn’t it time then that the citizens of this country stood up to interrogate the efficiency of government's decisions and policy choices? Kenya must slam breaks on further borrowing and rid of all her recurring waste guised as recurrent expenditure to steer away from this dangerous trajectory. And for this, I hold the President to account.

By David Barissa

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