Kenya could soon have a Public Debt Register containing detailed information on government borrowing as part of efforts to improve transparency, accountability and public access to debt information.
Appearing before the Public Petitions Committee, the Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang’o, backed the proposal, saying it should be implemented through amendments to the Public Finance Management Act, 2012, rather than creating a new law.
Nyakang’o said placing a clear legal responsibility on the National Treasury to establish and maintain the proposed Public Debt Register would provide a better framework for managing public debt.
She was responding to Public Petition No. 10 of 2026 on strengthening oversight, transparency and intergenerational equity in public debt governance, which was presented before the committee chaired by Runyenjes MP Muchangi Karemba.
The petition, submitted by Beatrice Waiyaki and others on behalf of the Kiambu County Empowerment Network and the Bunge Mashinani School of Governance in collaboration with various activist groups, raised concerns over the country’s growing public debt.
Among the proposals in the petition were stronger parliamentary oversight of public debt management, increased transparency and public access to debt information, and the creation of a Public Debt Register.
The Controller of Budget supported most recommendations in the petition but said the proposed Public Debt Register should be created through amendments to existing laws, including the Public Finance Management Act, 2012, rather than through new legislation.
Nyakang’o also agreed that public finance reports should be simplified to improve public understanding and participation, especially among young people. She said her office would work with the Bunge Mashinani Initiative to expand public awareness.
“I agree that we need to improve the way we simplify the reports so that they can get to the wider public, and we also need to increase the digital presence on our social media pages. We also need to get some young people to throw the message out a little more than we are doing, and my office shall be reaching out to the Bunge Mashinani Initiative to engage them further on how we can amplify this reach,” Nyakang’o said.
Committee chairperson Muchangi Karemba questioned Nyakang’o’s confidence in the Commonwealth Meridian System proposed for public debt management, citing concerns over the reliability of government systems.
“You seem to have a lot of confidence in this system, and systems in this country do not have a very good history. Where are you gathering the confidence to trust this Commonwealth Meridian System? Where has it worked?” Karemba posed.
Nyakang’o said the system is used successfully across Commonwealth countries and helps manage borrowing decisions, debt sustainability and governance.
“The Commonwealth Meridian System is actually used across Commonwealth countries, so all the countries that were, at some point, colonies of the British Empire used this system, and it has been very successful. I am a beneficiary of a training about the system, and we were taken through all the elements of what this system can do, from analysing what to borrow, analysing sustainability figures, analysing the governance around borrowing, all that is within the Meridian system,” Nyakang’o said.
She called for clear separation of roles among the National Treasury, Central Bank of Kenya, Parliament and her office to improve debt oversight and accountability.
On the proposal for a two-year borrowing freeze, Nyakang’o said it would be difficult to implement due to Kenya’s financial situation.
“We are at a point where we have already borrowed a lot. According to our latest report, we are at Sh12.82 trillion in total borrowing. Out of that figure, about 60 per cent is domestic, and 40 per cent is external.
The impact is that up to 71 per cent of the revenues that we collect goes to loan repayment. So when that happens, it leaves us with 29 per cent to do the rest of the expenditure that we would like to do, and that involves both recurrent and development,” she said.
“So, if you look at the kind of budget that we prepare, and you look at say 30 per cent of that money, you will find that we surely cannot survive within that 30 per cent. The impact of that is that we must keep borrowing to stay afloat.”
She added that, “What perhaps we can work on is reducing our spending so that gradually, we reduce the amounts that we must borrow to stay afloat. This concept you may have heard is called fiscal consolidation. It involves a mix of increasing our revenues and reducing our spending, so that that gap that we have can get smaller with time.”
Deputy Auditor General Isaac Ng’ang’a supported most recommendations, saying debt sustainability requires stronger institutions, better financial discipline and improved efficiency.
Ng’ang’a said the government should continue with fiscal consolidation measures by improving revenue collection, cutting unnecessary spending and protecting key development and social programmes.
He also recommended affordable financing options, longer repayment periods where possible, increased use of concessional borrowing and strengthening of the domestic debt market to reduce borrowing costs and risks.