IMF approves Sh79.3 billion loan to Kenya for fight against coronavirus

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved an Sh79.3 billion loan to Kenya to help the country fight coronavirus, according to a news report by Daily Nation.

This is the second credit facility Kenya has received from a Bretton Woods institution in the last two months since coronavirus hit Nairobi.

In April, the Ministry of Health got another Sh5.3 billion from the World Bank to finance the production of sanitizers, protective gear for medical personnel, and scaling up bed capacity for Covid-19 patients.

In a statement released yesterday, the Executive Board of the IMF, the Fund said it had approved the disbursement of Sh79 billion (about USD739 million) to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF).

According to the statement, "This will help to meet Kenya's urgent balance of payments need stemming from the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic."

"While the authorities have taken decisive action to respond to the pandemic's health and economic impacts, the sudden shock has left Kenya with significant fiscal and external financing needs," IMF said.

IMF says it remains in close contact with Kenyan authorities and stands ready to provide policy advice and further support, as needed.

The IMF says to ensure that coronavirus related resources are used for their intended purpose, Kenyan authorities plan to conduct independent post-crisis auditing of coronavirus related expenditure and publish the results.

In March, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has revealed that it had requested the IMF and the World Bank for emergency funding of up to Sh123 billion (1.15billion) to help Kenya deal with the revenue shortfalls due to the virus.