Demonstrators carry a man injured during an anti-government rally in Nairobi, Kenya, 02 July 2024. Demonstrators took to the streets despite Kenyan President William Ruto's announcement on 26 June that he would not sign into law a finance bill proposing new tax hikes. According to the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), at least 39 people have died and 361 were injured in protests against tax hikes countrywide. EPA-EFE/DANIEL IRUNGU “We would be proposing to the National Assembly a budget cut of not the entire 346, but a budget cut of 177 billion and borrowing the difference” Ruto said. “Cutting the entire amount in our assessment would significantly and drastically affect the delivery of critical government services, while borrowing the whole amount in full will occasion a fiscal deficit by a margin that would have significant repercussions on many sectors, including our exchange rate and interest rates.”
The revenue shortfall will increase the budget deficit for 2024-25 to 4.6% of gross domestic product, compared with an earlier estimate of 3.3%, Ruto said. The president also said he’d appoint a panel to carry out a forensic audit of the nation’s debt.