Gachagua: We will borrow Sh150bn from China to complete stalled roads
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua revealed Friday that President William Ruto will visit China to borrow Sh150 billion to complete stalled roads.
He added that the Head of State will also seek a review of loan terms.
"In those negotiations, the president will ask the Chinese government to review credit service terms for the existing loans and also give us a top-up so that we can complete the stalled road projects," he said.
Speaking on Inooro FM, Mr Gachagua said, "We want to be a good debtor who will not run away from credit service obligations...We have agreed that we will pay all our debts but at the same time we want to engage our creditors to be lenient, patient and also continue to help us in times of need."
He said President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration had borrowed astronomically and embarked on many road projects that later stalled even when the maturity dates of the loans came during the Kenya Kwanza administration.
Yes we owe you
"We went to reason with China...show them that yes we owe you, we have these roads that have stalled and not helping us...we want a top-up to complete them so that we can be servicing debts for projects that we can see completed," he said.
Mr Gachagua said debt management was good because borrowing could not be done away with.
"But I want to set the record straight. We have not borrowed heavily as our aggressors in politics have insinuated. It is just that most of our borrowing has been in US dollars. With a weak shilling, interest rates have gone up because they are calculated in dollars," he claimed.
The Deputy President said, "We will come out of this debt trap with grace. We will not be blacklisted as many African countries have been...we will clear all these debts and begin to ease the cost of living for our people".
He called for patience and patriotism as the government “wrestles with the debt”.
