Skip to main content

IMF Approves New $941m Loan for Cash-Strapped Kenya

Radio France Internationale

Nairobi (AFP) - - The International Monetary Fund said it has granted Kenya a new loan of more than $941 million to help buttress the finances of the cash-strapped East African nation.

Kenya is grappling with a host of economic challenges including a vast debt mountain, cost of living crisis and tumbling currency.

The IMF said in a statement published on Wednesday that its executive board had approved the $941.2 million loan, with an immediate disbursement of $624.5 million.

Total payments under various credit facilities amount to about $2.6 billion, it added.

The Washington-based agency said it forecast Kenya's economic growth at around 5 percent this year, from an estimated 5.1 percent in 2023.

"Kenya's growth remained resilient in the face of increasing external and domestic challenges," said Antoinette Sayeh, IMF deputy managing director and acting chair, said in the statement.

'Ongoing support'

The credit arrangements for Kenya "continue to support the authorities' efforts to sustain macroeconomic stability, strengthen policy frameworks, withstand external shocks, push forward key reforms, and promote more inclusive and green growth".

According to the latest Treasury data released this month, Kenya's public debt stands at 10.585 trillion shillings ($65.5 billion).

In December, Kenya ditched a promise to buy back a portion of a $2 billion Eurobond that is due to mature in June.

Instead, Finance Minister Njuguna Ndung'u said the country had paid $68.7 million in interest on the bond, sidestepping a potential default.

President William Ruto had announced a plan in November to buy $300 million of the Eurobond, saying public debt had "become a source of much concern to citizens, markets and our partners".

Ruto has imposed a raft of new or increased taxes to try to replenish government coffers, but they are deeply unpopular among people struggling with rising costs for basic goods, and several have been challenged in court.

Inflation has been running high, at 6.6 percent in December, and the IMF said it was likely to inch up in the first half of this year.

The Kenyan shilling is also trading at all-time lows at around 160 to the dollar.

Read or Listen to this story on the RFI website.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take care of yourself__"The first wealth is health".

By Strive Masiyiwa  A few weeks ago I went to the doctor. I will tell you what he said about my health at the end, but first read this: Twenty years ago, I arranged to meet a well-known British international businessman who invested a lot in Africa at the time. We agreed to meet for dinner at a leading hotel in London.  After a good meeting, we started to walk out of the restaurant when he suddenly collapsed in the lobby. There was total pandemonium as they rushed to get medical assistance. Being London, an ambulance arrived in minutes. I jumped in the back with him as paramedics wrestled to keep him alive. He had had a heart attack and had to have triple bypass heart surgery. Sadly he died a few weeks later. He hadn't been sick and his sudden death surprised everyone. And yet as I reflected on it, and later discussed it with a doctor friend who knew him, I realized he was very laid back about his health despite having a hectic business life. Even during our dinner...
Post a Comment
Read more

The 4 Focuses of History-Makers

kenyabittertruth has given you 200 MB Data. To claim click here https://refer.airtel.africa/KE/F7VT3NZG and download the MyAirtel App using this code: F7VT3NZG “The life given us, by nature is short, but the memory of a well-spent life is eternal.” —Cicero The sunrise was dazzling as the entrepreneur and the artist walked hand-in-hand along the seashore to meet the billionaire at the designated meeting spot for the next morning’s mentoring class. Mr. Riley was already there when they arrived, sitting on the sand, eyes closed in a deep meditation. He was shirtless, wearing camouflage-patterned shorts similar to the ones The Spellbinder styled the day he appeared on the beach and a pair of rubber diving booties with smiley face emojis scattered over them. You would have been more than amused if you saw him in them. An assistant rushed out of the billionaire’s home the instant he raised a hand toward the heavens, displaying the universal victory sign. Three crisp pages of paper were effic...
Post a Comment
Read more

THE CROWN YOU CARRY: A Letter to My LOVELY Daughter FROM THE HEART OF A MOTHER

My Dearest Daughter, As the sun rises over the hills of Limuru, casting golden rays upon the dew-kissed tea leaves, my heart swells with pride, hope, and the wisdom only a mother can carry. You, my beautiful girl, are in school, and while the world sees a student in uniform, I see a queen in the making. I see the grace of your grandmother, the fire of your ancestors, and the promise of a bright African dawn glowing in your eyes. This Easter, God granted me the sweet joy of bonding with you—not just as a mother—but as a woman who has walked a little further on this winding road of life. You may not know it yet, but in those laughter-filled mornings and quiet evening chats, a legacy was passed on: not of gold or silver, but of values, vision, and virtue. Let me speak to your soul now, daughter of mine. Listen with your spirit. In this life, my sweet child, “a child who does not listen to the mother’s advice will sleep with the flies” — a Ghanaian proverb as old as wisdom itself. The worl...
Post a Comment
Read more