Kenya receives Sh43.5 billion loan from IMF

Kenya is set to receive Sh43.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the conclusion of a review of the progress the country has made in meeting conditions for a 38-month credit facility approved in April.

This will bring to Sh76 billion the amount that the country has received from IMF under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Extended Credit Facility (ECF) under the financing programme.

“The board’s decision allows for an aggregate immediate disbursement of $407 million (Sh43.5 billion), bringing Kenya’s total disbursements for budget support under the arrangements to about $714.5 million (Sh76.5 billion),” said IMF in a statement yesterday.

On April 2, the global lender approved a Sh261 billion credit facility for Kenya under a three-year programme to help the country reduce its debt vulnerabilities.

The money will be disbursed in tranches based on reviews and approvals by the IMF Board.

During the reviews concluded Wednesday, IMF noted that the country has made progress in different areas that had been agreed on when the credit was approved.

These include putting in place mechanisms to reduce debt vulnerabilities, which IMF said has been done through a multi-year fiscal consolidation effort centered on raising tax revenues and tightly controlling spending.

“The Kenyan authorities continue to demonstrate strong commitments to their fiscal reform agenda during this unprecedented global shock,” said IMF Deputy Managing Director Antoinette Sayeh.

“Performance under the EFF-ECF arrangements has been broadly satisfactory despite a challenging environment.”