NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan economic growth could slow to 6.5 percent this year from 7 percent in 2007 due to the post-election violence earlier in the year, Planning and National Development Minister Wycliffe Oparanya said on Tuesday.

Oparanya said the east African country's budget deficit would rise to 200 billion shillings in the 2008/09 (July-June) fiscal year from 109.8 billion shillings for the current year.

"The economic survey report that I will release on Thursday will show the economy grew by 7 percent for the period up to December 2007. This year, because of the problems, we are expecting 6.5 percent," Oparanya told journalists.

"I anticipate 200 billion shillings deficit in the 2008/09 financial year because of infrastructural requirements," he added.

The government would plug the shortfall through donor funds and further privatisation of state-owned companies such as the National Bank, he said.

Last month Finance Minister Amos Kimunya forecast economic growth of between 4-6 percent this year, from an earlier projection of 7 percent, due to ethnic fighting that followed President Mwai Kibaki's disputed election win in December.

A Reuters poll in April showed analysts expecting expansion at an average 3.8 percent.

Ethnic fighting in much of January and February killed 1,200 people, uprooted some 350,000, mostly farmers, and disrupted activity in key economic sectors such as tourism and manufacturing.

Kimunya is expected to read out the country's budget for the coming financial year in June. Last year, Kenya budgeted to spend 693.6 billion shillings.

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