National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has defended the strength of the shilling, which has stabilised at Ksh129 to the dollar despite economic uncertainty.
Speaking on Monday during the launch of the FY 2026/27 and the Medium-Term Budget Preparation Process, Mbadi claimed that although there had been a lot of panic in early 2024 over the plummeting economy, the government had put in measures that have stabilised the shilling for over a year.
Among the issues causing this, Mbadi said, was the likelihood of defaulting on meeting the debt obligations, including a $2 billion (about Ksh258 billion in the current exchange rates) Eurobond coming to maturity by June, as the government did not have a repayment plan yet. "There was a panic last year, the shilling lost ground and rose to close to Ksh165 to the dollar but because of what the government did then and what we have continued to do, in terms of managing our liability and out debt, the shilling appreciated, now to around Ksh129.2 to the dollar and has stayed around Ksh128 to Ksh130 for over one year," he stated.
A man counting several one thousand Kenyan shillings bills.
