NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s President William Ruto sought $1 billion more in loans from China Monday, despite rising public debt that has now reached $70 billion in the Eastern African country, according to National Treasury figures for 2022/2023.
The SGR which started operations in 2017, was initially intended to go all the way to neighboring Uganda to the west, as well as serving other landlocked countries in eastern and Central Africa. However, those plans were cancelled after Kampala pulled out and opted instead for partnership with a Turkish firm for the construction of its main line.
“ The SGR as is is a dud. To make it sustainable it needs to connect Uganda’s oil to the sea and minerals. Therefore, to take the SGR from a negative return on investment into a positive ROI, he needs to increase leverage,” added Satchu., according to national data. Some of the loans will mature in the 2023/2024 fiscal year, putting further pressure on the government.