By Kevin Koech
Economist David Ndii has warned Kenyans of though times ahead after Kenya took the International Monetary Fund (IMF) KSh 255 loan.
In a statement, the economist said the loan dubbed Structural Adjustment Loan (SAPs) comes with conditions such as strictness on taxes and spending cuts.
Ndii added that after taking the loan, the country is now creditworthy and can continue to borrow and service debts.
“It comes with austerity (tax raises, spending cuts, downsizing) to keep Kenya creditworthy so that we continue borrowing and servicing debt. IMF is not here for fun. Ask older people,” he said.
Following outrage online over the IMF loan to Kenya, IMF clarified that the loan would be given in phases within three years.
The lender also noted that reviews would be conducted to ensure compliance.
One of the conditions Kenya has agreed to comply with include enforcing wealth declarations for all public servants to curb corruption.
“We have noted the vulnerability of the financial sector to the risks posed by laundering of the proceeds of corruption, and we will, therefore, continue to use AML/CFT measures to support anti-corruption efforts
“We will continue to support efforts of the Financial Reporting Centre (FRC) towards encouraging and strengthening the use of financial intelligence to trace proceeds of corruption by sharing relevant financial intelligence with law enforcement agencies,” wrote IMF.
