(Ecofin Agency) - Kenya has undertaken negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to obtain a financial deal over 3 and a half years. The institution announced it in a statement issued last Nov. 20.

The agreement will come in the form of an extended credit facility and will mainly serve to accelerate the country’s post-Covid-19 economic recovery. “The program would provide resources to protect vulnerable groups and would reduce debt vulnerabilities over time through a multi-year fiscal consolidation centered on raising tax revenues. It would also advance the structural reform and governance agenda and address weaknesses in some SOEs that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 shock,” the statement read.

According to the Kenyan Finance Minister Ukur Yatani (pictured), the agreement with the IMF is expected to be $2.3 billion in total. Although a final deal has not yet been announced, several agreements have already been reached and the minister expects the first $725 million to be disbursed early next fiscal year, beginning in June 2021.

As a reminder, forecasts indicate that Kenya will be one of the few African countries to maintain positive economic growth in 2020, even if it should be below 1%. While the country has still not joined the debt relief program of the G20 countries, the authorities are negotiating a loan with the World Bank to support the national economy.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou