Kenya asks China for an extra $1bn loan

The deputy to President William Ruto said that he will be going to China later this month to ask for a $1bn (£820m) loan to pay for road projects that have been put on hold.

Inooro FM news, Mr. Gachagua said that many workers had given up on projects across the country because they weren’t getting paid for their work.

He said that Kenya already owed a lot of money to China and that the president would ask for an extra $1bn and more time to pay back the money that was already due.

He said that the president would tell the Chinese, “We know we owe you money. Can we talk about giving us more time to pay and a little more money to finish building our roads?”

Kenya pays China more than $8bn for loans mostly given for building projects during the time of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government.

The vice president talked about the problem of government officials spending too much money. He said that this was why the president had told people to take fewer trips abroad.

To save money, the president stopped public officials from going on trips abroad that weren’t necessary earlier this week. They also told all departments to cut their budgets by 10% for the next fiscal year.

Many Kenyans are upset about the rising cost of living and tax increases that the government has put in place. They have said that the government spends money that it doesn’t need to.