Diaspora remittances inflows recovered in May 2020 to hit Ksh27.369 billion (USD 258.2 million) from Ksh22.069 billion (USD 208.2 million) recorded in April. This was a Ksh5.3 billion or 24 per cent growth month on month.
CBK weekly bulletin for the week ending reveals that the cumulative inflows in the 12 months to May totalled Ksh298.777 billion (USD 2,816 million) compared to Ksh290.334 billion (USD 2,739 million) in the 12 months to May 2019, reflecting a growth of 2.8 per cent.
The highest increases in inflows came from the US and South Africa. Other significant increases were realized from Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Australia and Switzerland.
READ ALSO: Kenya’s Diaspora Remittances Fall by 9% in April
The May remittances inflows are back to levels witnessed in December 2019 and January 2020 probably an indicator of the effect of COVID19 on remittances. The World Bank estimates that Global remittances are projected to decline sharply by about 20 per cent in 2020 due to the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown.
In particular, remittances to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are projected to fall by 19.7 percent to $445 billion, representing a loss of a crucial financing lifeline for many vulnerable households. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, remittance flows to the region are expected to decline by 23.1 percent to reach $37 billion in 2020.
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