State spent Sh1.3bn to pay KBC debt
PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Other agencies rescued include Nairobi City Council and Tana and Athi River Development Authority (Tarda)
- The debt is part of a 1989 loan that the then Voice of Kenya borrowed from Japan to help it buy new equipment as it transitioned to KBC
The government spent about Sh1.3 billion repaying the debt of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) in the last financial year.
This was among the highest debt paid by the State on behalf of various parastatals that were unable to do so.
A report released by the Controller of Budget, Ms Agnes Odhiambo, show that Treasury Sh1.93 billion to “service principal and interest on guaranteed debt on behalf of State corporations.” Other agencies rescued include Nairobi City Council and Tana and Athi River Development Authority (Tarda).
Treasury spent Sh79.2 million in paying loans it had guaranteed Nairobi City Council, paying Sh39.66 million and Sh39.53 million in the first and third quarters of the financial year 2011/12, respectively.
In the first and second quarters, the Treasury spent Sh264.8 million and Sh261.4 million, respectively, in repaying debts on behalf of Tarda.
“In the fourth quarter, the government paid Sh656.5 million to Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA) on behalf of KBC, which defaulted in honouring its debt obligations for the period ending June 30 2013,” the Controller of Budget notes in her report.
In total, Treasury spent Sh1.3 billion repaying debt owned by KBC.
The debt is part of a 1989 loan that the then Voice of Kenya borrowed from Japan to help it buy new equipment as it transitioned to KBC.
