Kenya will not default on its debt

NAIROBI, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Kenya will not default on its

debt, President William Ruto said on Wednesday. "This country of ours will not default. I want to give you

my assurance. Our country will not default on our obligations.

We have applied (the) brakes on any more borrowing," he said in

a joint interview with Kenyan media houses. Ruto's government, which took over in September, has

said it plans to cut expensive commercial borrowing in favour of

cheaper sources like the World Bank to reduce debt servicing

pressures. Like other frontier economies, Kenya found it almost

impossible to raise funds from international bond markets in

2022 due to a surge in yields. It was forced to cancel in June the planned issuance of

a second Eurobond for the last financial year and is now seeking

alternative sources of funding. In February last year, Fitch said rising government debt

levels and global interest rates were increasing the risk of

credit rating downgrades in as many as 10 African countries,

with Kenya, Ghana, Lesotho, Namibia, Rwanda and Uganda most at

threat.

(Reporting by George Obulutsa

Editing by Alexander Winning)