A petition has been filed before the National Assembly seeking a two-year ban on public borrowing
This sets the stage for a fresh debate over Kenya’s rising debt burden and the country’s fiscal sustainability.
Bunge Mashinani Initiative and the Kiambu County Empowerment Network, want Parliament to impose a mandatory 24-month borrowing freeze from the 2027/28 financial year as part of measures to curb the country’s mounting debt.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Public Petitions Committee, the petitioners argued that Kenya’s public debt has surged from about Sh2.4 trillion in 2014 to more than Sh12 trillion, leaving taxpayers increasingly burdened by debt servicing costs.
“We are already in a debt hole that we cannot keep digging deeper while lamenting. To cure this, we are calling on the National Assembly to take a decision to effect a 24-month debt freeze effective the next financial year 2027-2028 as a legislative measure to correct this mess,” said Bunge Mashinani lobby group.
Despite the country’s continued repayment pressures and widening fiscal deficit that hit over Sh1trillion in the current budget, the lobby groups contend that debt repayments are now consuming more than half of tax revenues.
“For every Sh100 collected in taxes, Sh68 goes towards debt repayment, this continued borrowing amounts to “intergenerational injustice” by shifting today’s fiscal burden to future generations,” reads the petition by Bunge Mashinani.
The push by different lobby groups want Parliament to reject any budget that is not balanced beginning with the 2027-28 fiscal year, arguing that persistent budget deficits continue to fuel new borrowing.
The current 2026-27 budget carries a deficit of about Sh1.1 trillion, which the petitioners say will require additional debt financing.
As part of the proposed borrowing moratorium, the petitioners are seeking a freeze on what they describe as non-essential capital expenditure, including new highways, dams, airport upgrades and the renovation of government offices.
“We must normalise living within our means. And that decision would be a great legacy for the 13th Parliament. Future generations must be spared the pain of financing our extravagance, fiscal indiscipline and theft in the future,” the petitioners noted.
They also want tighter controls on public spending, stronger anti-corruption measures and reforms to strengthen Parliament’s oversight of public borrowing.
The petition further calls for amendments to the Public Finance Management Act to reinforce fiscal discipline and ensure future borrowing decisions are subjected to greater parliamentary scrutiny.
The Controller of Budget has backed some of the governance proposals contained in the petition, particularly those aimed at improving transparency in debt management.
In submissions to the committee, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o supported calls to anchor the constitutional principle of intergenerational equity in the Public Finance Management Act and recommended the establishment of a central public debt registry to improve public access to information on loan agreements and repayment obligations.
However, the office noted that the authority to contract public debt rests with the National Treasury under the existing legal framework.
In her latest National Government Budget Implementation Review Report for the first nine months of the 2025-26 financial year, Nyakang’o says domestic borrowing emerged as the government’s strongest-performing financing source.
It outperformed tax revenue growth, grants and external loans.
According to the report, domestic borrowing generated Sh965.87 billion by the end of March 2026, representing 88 per cent of the annual target and accounting for 30 per cent of all receipts into the Consolidated Fund.
The petition is anchored on Article 201(c) of the Constitution, which requires that the burdens and benefits of public borrowing be shared equitably between current and future generations.
The Public Petitions Committee is expected to consider the proposals before tabling its recommendations to the National Assembly, where lawmakers will determine whether the sweeping fiscal reforms should proceed.
