The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concluded a six-day staff visit to Kenya led by Haimanot Teferra, where it held discussions on recent developments and their policies to manage the emerging challenges.
- Kenya entered a 4-year deal with the IMF in 2021, unlocking about US$ 3.6 billion in funding including an additional climate change fund of US$542 million.
- The fund was aimed at managing debt while creating a conducive economic environment for private sector development amid the Covid 19 pandemic and elevated global inflation.
- The visit comes after deadly protests which shortchanged the government’s ambitious tax hikes plan, leaving the country with a bigger deficit, leading to a delay in disbursement of IMF funding.
“We remain fully committed to supporting the authorities on their efforts to identify a set of policies that could support the completion of the reviews under the ongoing program as soon as feasible,” Ms. Teferra noted at the conclusion of the visit.
The IMF conducts regular reforms reviews every six months in Kenya before it releases tranches of funding. IMF pledged its commitment to support sustainable and inclusive growth in the East African Country.
“The authorities expressed commitment to advancing economic and governance reforms which are crucial for fostering sustainable and inclusive growth that benefits all Kenyans. We will continue our discussions with the authorities.” she added.
