Kenya is in talks with the World Bank and the African Development Bank for new financing it expects to land before the end of the financial year in June 2027, Central Bank governor Kamau Thugge said on 16 October.
Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thugge said the options include a World Bank Development Policy Operation, a type of direct budget support. A debt-for-food swap is also being looked at, though he said he was not directly involved in those talks.
Reuters had earlier reported that Kenya was due about $400 million in emergency World Bank financing to deal with risks including an Ebola outbreak in the region and El Niño.
The IMF question
An IMF team is expected in Nairobi in December for a routine Article IV review, and a possible new programme will be on the table. But Thugge was clear that IMF money is not in the government’s financing plans.
He still sees the appeal. Fund money would be cheaper than the alternatives, especially borrowing at home, and cheaper external loans could ease the government’s heavy reliance on the domestic market.
Thugge did not disclose amounts or terms for the financing under discussion.
Related reporting: Kenya’s new infrastructure fund starts by buying government bonds.
