Kenya, IMF long-standing talks for $1.5b loan collapse
The IMF team cancelled the trip at the last minute after former Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge (left) and National Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich (right) were placed at the centre of a fraudulent $460 million contract. FILE PHOTO | NMG
What you need to know:
The move follows the exit of Treasury’s two senior-most officials in an anti-corruption purge, leaving the country exposed to economic shocks.
Collapse of the talks left in abeyance the renewal of the standby credit facility intended to cushion the Kenyan shilling.
The new Treasury Principal Secretary Julius Muia in an interview said plans are underway to re-engage the IMF, with the possibility of resuming talks next month.
Kenya initially secured the two-year IMF precautionary facility in March 2016. It expired in March last year, but was extended up to September.
