Diana’s Submission on Day 3 of the AfCoDD IV on National Debt Meeting – Reflections, Emerging Issues, and Building Common Approach Towards Africa Rule Maker not Rule Taker, on August 30, 2024, in Maputo, Moçambique

Our Executive Director, Diana Gichengo, began by providing extensive feedback on the recently concluded Debt and Anti-Corruption Citizen Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya. She noted that the recent assembly marked a departure from last year’s debt conference, where government officials from the Treasury and Parliament participated and assisted in advancing certain issues in Parliament. However, this year’s assembly emphasized engaging citizens considering recent events in Kenya. Despite contacting government officials, including parliamentarians, they did not attend the meeting due to concerns about legitimacy. This decision followed public dissatisfaction, leading to a lack of confidence in the parliamentarians. Thus, the assembly’s focus was on public debt accountability and anti-corruption. The assembly drew 519 in-person participants on the second day and 200 virtual participants, including members of social justice movements, university students, civil society representatives, practitioners, and development partners. 

The assembly resulted in a mutual agreement that our primary issue is the lack of accountability for tax collection and public debt. The communique issued from the assembly strongly emphasized the need to apprehend, imprison, and prosecute those who embezzle and misappropriate public funds. This was a clear demand from the young Kenyans at the conference, encapsulated in the Swahili phrase “Funga Wezi. Usikope.” It was recognized that there is sufficient revenue available, eliminating the need for extensive borrowing by the Kenyan government. Furthermore, it was made apparent to the government that the macroeconomic policies advocated by the IMF and the World Bank are unsustainable. There was a firm stance that the IMF should engage with a broader group of stakeholders, not just a select few at the Treasury, with full involvement through Parliament. This standpoint arose from the realization that the people are heavily bearing the burden of poorly obtained, utilized, and undisclosed debts. 

As the assembly took place in Nairobi, the objective is to organize similar assemblies in all 47 counties of Kenya with the aim to collect 15 million signatures to petition for an audit of public debt and the prosecution of those who have misused public funds. The plan is to conduct these assemblies between September and December 2024. Additionally, the objective is to demand accountability regarding some of the ongoing austerity programs under the IMF-Kenya engagement, which have been highly detrimental to the people of Kenya. This also encompasses the unpopular New Funding Model for higher education, which students strongly opposed during the assembly. Interestingly, the President has tried to hold similar assemblies with university students in an attempt to pacify them after our citizen assembly. Among the current austerity measures in Kenya is the proposed transition from the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) as the new social health care model. 

The premium calculation process in these models remains unclear because of the complex matrices involved. The practicality of these new models is yet to be determined, and our courts have strongly opposed their implementation, particularly the SHIF. However, the government has tried multiple times to implement all of them discreetly. The challenges posed by these austerity measures demonstrate a lack of public participation and accountability, contributing to the problems related to governance challenges in Kenya. The loss of many young lives during the protests against the Finance Bill 2024 and the austerity measures reflects the anger among the youth (Gen Z), who are striving for economic liberation and demanding accountability in public debt and intergenerational fairness. These are just a few highlights of the events taking place in Kenya.