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· The IMF has approved the three-year financing package support for Kenya the next phase of the authorities’ COVID-19 response and their plan to reduce debt vulnerabilities of the East African country
· The other requirements will be strengthening transparency and accountability through the anticorruption framework
· Recently, a Fitch rating affirmed Kenya’s credit rating at ‘B+’ with a negative outlook.
The IMF has approved the three-year financing package support for Kenya the next phase of the authorities’ COVID-19 response and their plan to reduce debt vulnerabilities of the East African country.
The IMF also insists on a reform and governance agenda, asking Kenya to address weaknesses in some state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The other requirements will be strengthening transparency and accountability through the anticorruption framework. Recently, a Fitch rating affirmed Kenya’s credit rating at ‘B+’ with a negative outlook. On the positive side, Fitch maintained that the rating reflects the country’s strong economic growth, macroeconomic stability, and favourable public debt composition.
Kenya faces US$2.6 billion in sovereign external debt servicing in 2021. In 2022, it is pitched at US$3.6 billion. Kenya will use a combination of the IMF financing, a US$1 billion World Bank loan as well as a Eurobond issuance in 2021 and 2022 to service the debt obligation.
