Defaulting EAPCC, Tarda cost taxpayers Sh661m
Monday, June 8, 2020 0:01
By JOHN MUTUA
The State guaranteed Sh1 billion loan from Japan Telecoms Engineering in 1989 for the expansion of the broadcaster.
The quarterly economic and budgetary report shows that Treasury paid Sh365.4 million in guaranteed debt for East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) and Sh295.81 million for the Tana and Athi River Development Authority (Tarda).
“The actual guaranteed debt payment was higher than target because of depreciation of the Kenya shilling against the Japanese yen by the time of actual payments,” he said in the report tabled in Parliament last week.
Mr Yatani in the budget preparation for the year starting next month froze fresh loan guarantees and approvals for State corporations, which have defaulted on repayment of debt and other statutory obligations.
A recent report by the International Monetary Fund shows that the amount that the National Treasury has guaranteed in loans to parastatals stands at Sh139 billion — underlining the huge burden that the poorly-performing entities are saddling taxpayers with.
