By Billy Mijungu
Kenya has continued to record growth in annual tax revenue over the years. In the financial year 2024 and 2025 total tax revenue reached Kshs 2.571 trillion which was one of the strongest performances in the recent period. In the year before that, which is 2023 and 2024, the country collected Kshs 2.407 trillion. In the 2022 and 2023 financial year the collection was Kshs 2.166 trillion which showed progress even as the economy faced serious pressure. Earlier in the 2021 and 2022 period the country recorded Kshs 2.031 trillion. If we look further back at 2018 and 2019 the amount collected was Kshs 1.580 trillion which shows the level of growth in only a few years. The trend demonstrates that the country has the ability to mobilize more revenue and also highlights the effect of tax reforms and improved administration.
For all these years it raises a serious question. From the nineteen sixties to today where does all the money go. Are we really a Kshs 17 trillion economy which is about one hundred and thirty six billion United States dollars. Something does not add up. Kenya is an economy that can stand on its own feet and can lift people out of poverty but this can only happen if we operate without the heavy burden of debt. The years of President Mwai Kibaki were good years for economic discipline and growth and those principles should have been sustained for the long term.
We must make a firm decision and free our economy from the Kshs 12 trillion public debt that holds us back. As a country we must promise never to return to this path of endless borrowing. Kenya can invest in strong regulation and also sell part of the Kshs 12 trillion worth of state assets that are sitting idle or under performing. These state assets can be taken to the stock market and seventy percent of the shares can be made available to Kenyans while thirty percent is offered to a strategic investor who can bring in capital and expertise. This move would unlock value and inject new energy into the economy.
With debt removed the economy is capable of rebuilding the same amount of wealth in under five years. We can reach an average of Kshs 3 trillion in annual revenue which would total about Kshs 15 trillion in resources that can be spent on our own development and can stimulate enterprise and growth. This is possible and achievable if we decide to do what is right for the country.
