The former finance minister revisited history and tore into the economic policies of the current administration. Did he get all his facts right?
The former finance minister was fairly accurate in his speech, correctly quoting the extent of Kenya’s public debt and overall GDP and highlighting Kenyans’ reliance on mobile lending service Fuliza. While Kenyan debt is concerning, we could find no evidence that more than 50% of
While Kenyan debt is concerning, we could find no evidence that more than 50% of Kenyans are currently servicing mobile loans, as Mudavadi claimed. Recent surveys indicate that while mobile lending services like Fuliza and M-Shwari are widely used, the proportion of active users managing outstanding mobile debts at any given time is closer to 20% to 30%.
Mudavadi also cited historical economic growth figures, suggesting that the country’s growth rate had halved under the current administration. However, World Bank data shows that while growth has slowed, it has not declined by half; Kenya’s GDP growth rate dropped from about 5.8% pre-pandemic to an average of 4.5% in recent years.
Another assertion Mudavadi made was that inflation had reached its highest point in two decades. This is inaccurate: although inflation spiked to 9.2% in late 2023, it remained below the 19.2% peak recorded in 2008 during the post-election crisis and global financial downturn.
In summary, while many of Mudavadi’s critiques were based on verifiable trends, some of his statistics were exaggerated or lacked sufficient evidence. As with many political speeches, the facts were mixed with a degree of rhetorical flourish.