General view of the flag of Kenya at Shiokaze Park on the fourteenth day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan. Picture date: Friday August 6, 2021. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)

NAIROBI, Dec 20 (Reuters) – Kenya’s economy is likely to expand by 4.5%-5.2% in 2024 from an estimated 5% this year, the World Bank said on Wednesday.

The East African nation has been growing at one of the fastest annual paces on the continent in recent years but a heavy debt load and a weakening currency have emerged as risks.

“Debt related vulnerabilities persist, and rising debt costs constrain government’s ability to address development challenges,” the bank said in a statement on its latest Kenya economic update report.

Policymakers will need to balance between the short-term macroeconomic challenges and longer-term growth considerations, said Naomi Mathenge, a senior economist at the World Bank. (Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)