IMF approves kshs 255B loan to Kenya for dealing with Covid funding shortages.

The International Monetary Fund[IMF] has approved a Sh 255 billion loan for Kenya, which will come with a raft of conditions for Nairobi , as the Washington based lender returns to be at the centre of Kenya’s economic policy.

The loan would help Nairobi deal with Covid-19 related funding shortages, fund structural reforms as well as address the urgent need to reduce Kenya’s debt vulnerabilities.

Approval of the new loans under the Fund’s Extended Credit Facility and Extended Fund Facility will enable immediate disbursement of about $307.5 million that Kenya can use for budget support, adding $739 millions it received in emergency COVID-19 aid in May 2020.

The Imf supports an extension of the Debt Service suspension initiative until end-2021. This one way to give the most vulnerable countries the breathing room they need to confront the pandemic.