Following pressure from Western countries, Kenya’s government has requested that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conduct an official evaluation of the country’s governance and corruption problems.
Kenya has battled debt that has risen to dangerous levels in recent years. Its decision to back out of planned tax increases earlier this year in response to violent protests made it more difficult for the country to receive a $600 million payment from the IMF.
The countries must request the so-called “governance diagnostic,” which examines if corruption and governance flaws are sapping revenue or causing other issues with state finances.
“We have received a governance diagnostics request from the authorities,” an IMF spokesperson said in response to written questions.
“The government of Kenya aims to strengthen its governance and anti-corruption policies. They intend to utilize these diagnostics to enhance public spending efficiency, boost competitiveness, foster growth, and inclusively reduce poverty.”
According to a person with knowledge of the matter, the assessment would be a gesture of goodwill in the nation’s attempts to get its finances back on track even though it was unrelated to the payment.
President William Ruto was forced to rescind $2.7 billion in proposed tax increases in June as a result of widespread protests centred around perceived waste and corruption in the government.
Requests for comments were not answered by Kenya’s finance ministry. The news that Western countries were pressuring for the IMF review was originally broken by Reuters on Tuesday.
