Religious groups in Kenya want the state to disown illegally incurred external debts. They have started a campaign to ask the finance minister to open for public scrutiny the public debt register before this year's national budget. The country's debt amounts to Sh750 billion and the Government proposes to spend Sh112 billion (22 per cent of the entire budget) servicing it. Officials behind the campaign blame the debts for increasing poverty in the country. A motion in Parliament to have the public debt register made public and its content published was shot down by 80 MPs last year.