The roundabout along Eastern Bypass next to Windsor Hotel have been converted into an informal market (Maxwell Agwanda) It was described as a year of survival, and the numbers said as much about 2020.
A health crisis that morphed into an economic crisis saw millions lose jobs.
The economy experienced one of the sharpest contractions in the second quarter, as schools, pubs, hotels and airports remained closed.
The government, which has not been getting sufficient tax revenues, plunged into the debt market to help stimulate the economy. Read More
Besides giving taxpayers reliefs, the government also set aside some money as part of a stimulus package.
Sh8.4 trillion: This is the stock of Kenya’s total public debt, if you include the committed undisbursed debt of Sh1.35 trillion. Due to poor tax collection amid the adverse effects of Covid-19, the National Treasury resorted to borrowing to help stimulate the economy. Assuming a projected GDP of Sh11 trillion, the additional loans pushed the debt-to-GDP ratio to 76 per cent, which is close to, or over the 70 per cent threshold for low middle-income countries such as Kenya when adjusted for prevailing mitigating terms such as interest.
Sh57 billion: This is the amount of money the government expects to spend in the current financial year to simulate the economy that has been battered by Covid-19. Kenya’s public debt has touched a high of Sh8.4 trillion and is quickly racing towards the Sh9 trillion ceiling, as the government chalks up more borrowing in its fight against Covid-19.
Sh1,000: In March, after the first Covid-19 case was announced in the country, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), in partnership with payment service providers, waived fees on transactions for sums below Sh1,000. The move was aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus through physical contact with money. Small traders were expected to benefit from this initiative, with the transfer of money between banks and M-Pesa accounts also made free. Mobile money transfers consequently increased after a slight decline in April, when Sh307 billion was transferred, to peak at Sh529 billion in October.
Sh111.6: The Kenyan shilling hit a historic low of Sh111.60 against the US dollar on December 17. With a weak shilling, the country was at risk of imported inflation as prices of imported goods shot up.
The country’s external debt stock also got inflated as the local currency weakened. On March 13, the day Kenya recorded its first case of Covid-19, […]