Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has said Kenya’s cost of living is easing, pointing to falling inflation, lower commodity prices, and a stronger shilling as signs of improved economic stability.

Speaking in Nairobi on Monday during the launch of the 2026/27 budget-making process, Mbadi dismissed claims that the drop in inflation was a statistical illusion, insisting the decline was real and being felt in households.

“Remember that in 2022, we had inflation rates at unimaginable percentages, 9.6%. Now it has come down to 4.1. To me, clearly, that also reflects a reduction in the cost of living,” he said.

He noted that prices of essentials such as maize flour, sugar, and fuel had eased compared to the spikes seen in late 2022 and early 2023. The CS also pointed out that the street protests of early 2023, when Kenyans carried cooking pots (“sufurias”) on their heads to decry high food prices, had since subsided.

“Today, how many people are in the streets with sufurias on their heads? I don’t see them. It means now the cost of what was being cooked by the sufuria has gone down,” he remarked.

While acknowledging that the economy still faces significant debt pressures, with nearly half of ordinary revenue channeled to interest payments, Mbadi said government action had averted a looming debt default and stabilized the shilling.

He recalled that in early 2023, fears of default on a $2 billion Eurobond pushed the shilling to a record low of 165 against the U.S. dollar. However, restructuring measures and prudent management have since strengthened the currency to 129.2, where it has held steady for more than a year.

“The reality is, it is real. If you want to know that it is real, look at the forex reserves,” Mbadi said, noting that import cover has improved to 5.2 months, up from 3.8 months last year and 2.3 months in 2022.

The CS assured that the government would continue focusing on reducing debt risks while anchoring growth on sound financial discipline.