Bungoma Rated High In County Credit Rating

By Isabella Maua

With strong scores in the Global Credit Rating (GCR), Bungoma County has been recognised as one of the creditworthy counties and is now in a favourable position to borrow both domestically and abroad.

The county has ratings of BBB- for long-term loans and a significantly better A3 for short-term loans, indicating that they are financially secure enough to repay loans.

Since the introduction of credit ratings, Bungoma has received good ratings twice; this indicates that they have maintained good financial stability to pay their financial obligations.

”This is a superb initiative that helps answer tough credit questions. The rating will do the talking as counties seek ways to diversify revenue collection in the wake of delayed national government releases,” Lusaka said.

Other counties that were rated as creditworthy include: Makueni, Laikipia, Mombasa, and Nyandarua.

With this rating, the rated counties are well endeared to would-be creditors even as devolved units of government seek new sources of funding away from traditional national government allocation, scanty local revenue, and donor funding.

The County Creditworthiness Initiative (CCI) was conceived to coordinate and integrate existing efforts, instruments, knowledge, and resources from partners and stakeholders by identifying the most effective financing solutions and implementation arrangements for County Governments in Kenya.

James Katule, CEO of CRA, said they’re spearheading the initiative in partnership with the World Bank and seek to obtain a deeper understanding of elements that impede County governments borrowing and propose solutions and implementation.

“It aims to strengthen the regulatory framework for County Government borrowing through a reformed fiscal decentralisation typology that supports responsible borrowing regulated by market discipline,” Said Katule.

He further said CRA seeks to oversee sustainable County government borrowing and ensure a capital market that is ready for County Government borrowing.

Those present during the meeting included CRA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) James Katule, COG chair for finance committee Fernandez Barasa, Maukeni governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior, and others.