Ruto Seeks Ksh92 Billion World Bank Loan

Kenya is seeking for a Ksh92 billion ($750 million) budget support loan from the World Bank.

According to National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u, the loan facility will help cover the government's funding needs for the financial year to the end of June 2023.

Speaking at the launch of the World Bank's Country Partnership Framework for 2023-28 in Nairobi on Tuesday, December 6, Prof Ndung'u indicated that the government was seeking for more cash from the World Bank.

"We have been trying to negotiate this to Ksh122.75 billion ($1 billion) but World Bank has been adamant," Ndung'u revealed.

Treasury CS Njuguna Ndung'u at a past event

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Ndung'u had in November indicated that Kenya was in talks with the World Bank for new financing, without disclosing the amount involved.

“The proposed package under discussion with the World Bank aims at promoting sustainable, resilient, and inclusive growth,” Ndung’u reiterated in a speech at the World Bank event.

Kenya's appeal for the new facility is coming nine months after the lender extended a similar amount to help accelerate ongoing inclusive and resilient recovery from the economic crisis occasioned by the pandemic.

The Ksh92 billion approved by World Bank in March 2022 was part of the Development Policy Operation that intended to help contribute to greater transparency and the fight against corruption.

President William Ruto is on record for looking for alternative and less costly loans after his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta left the country with high-interest commercial debt.

This is considering the fact that interest rates in the domestic debt market are ranging at a high of 14 per cent.

According to the Treasury CS, the lending instrument under discussion with the World Bank is a Development Policy Operations loan which is usually tied to a pre-agreed policy area.

Kenya qualified for that type of financing in 2019 and it has since received four such loans, the last one in March.