IMF staff in Kenya for fact-finding mission after anti-Finance Bill protests

A team of staff from the International Monetary Fund is visiting Kenya on a fact-finding trip, the IMF said late on Thursday, part of efforts to craft a way forward in the wake of deadly protests that sunk the government's planned tax hikes.

President William Ruto abandoned this year's Finance Bill in June, leaving the heavily indebted government with a bigger budget deficit for this financial year, mounting unpaid bills, and a delay in the disbursement of IMF funding.

"This is a fact-finding mission and is part of our ongoing and constructive dialogue with the Kenyan authorities to find a balanced path forward," Julie Kozack, the head of communications for the IMF, told a news briefing.

She did not provide more details, saying further updates would be given when the team completes its mission.

Kenya agreed to a four-year loan with the IMF in 2021 and signed up for additional lending to support climate change measures in May 2023, taking its total IMF loan access to $3.6 billion (Sh464 billion).

The IMF requires regular reviews of reforms — in Kenya's case every six months — before it releases tranches of funding.

Kenya reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF in June on the seventh review of its programme, but the protest and ensuing withdrawal of the Finance Bill put a sign-off by the fund's executive board, and subsequent pay-out, on hold.

Kenyan government officials have previously said they expect the IMF board to consider approving the disbursement of a $600 million (Sh77.4 billion) tranche later this month, but no date has been set for a meeting to discuss this.