President William Ruto has called for an overhaul of the global debt system as he urged world leaders to treat public debt as a tool for development rather than a burden on third-world countries.
Ruto spoke on Monday, June 30, at the Fourth Financing for Development (FfD4) Summit in Seville, Spain, where he made a passionate appeal for more responsible lending practices and fairer financing mechanisms to suit the unique needs of African economies, including Kenya.
While welcoming what he termed as a growing consensus around the need for development-oriented debt infrastructure, Ruto was critical of a worrying trend where debt was used to tighten fiscal nooses around vulnerable nations. "There is now consensus on the need for a development-oriented sovereign debt architecture, where public debt is an instrument for development, not a trap." President William Ruto, alongside other world leaders at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, spain on Monday, June 30 2025.
PCS Ruto argued that any sustainable development strategy should be tied to lower borrowing costs, debt transparency, and responsible lending.
