John Mbadi and Others Travel to US to Meet IMF, World Bank as Kenya Eyes New Funding Programme
- Kenya's delegation met with senior World Bank officials, including Amit Dar and Qimiao Fan, to discuss Kenya’s economic outlook and fiscal performance
- IMF and Kenyan officials also reviewed progress on the Governance Diagnostic Assessment, an initiative requested by President William Ruto’s administration to address corruption
- Kenya is seeking a new funding programme from the IMF after mutually agreeing to cancel the ninth review of the ECF and EFF
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Elijah Ntongai, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has more than four years of financial, business, and technology research and reporting expertise, providing insights into Kenyan and global trends.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning, John Mbadi, is leading a high-level delegation in crucial talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
Source: Twitter
The discussions are taking place during the 2025 Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., as the country seeks to secure a new funding programme to bolster its economic stability.
Strategic talks with the World Bank
During a meeting with senior World Bank officials, Mbadi, accompanied by Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo and Central Bank governor Kamau Thugge, discussed Kenya’s economic outlook and potential areas of cooperation.
The World Bank team was led by Amit Dar, director of strategy and operations for Eastern and Southern Africa, and Qimiao Fan, country director for Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, and Uganda, engaged in discussions.
"Discussions centered on Kenya’s economic trajectory and key areas of collaboration, including economic performance and fiscal outlook, private sector engagement, the World Bank/Kenya portfolio, Development Policy Operation 7 (DPO-7), and upcoming pipeline projects targeting sustainable development," the Treasury reported.
Source: Twitter
Engagement with the IMF on governance reforms
In a separate high-level meeting with the IMF, the Kenyan delegation participated in a Governance Diagnostic Assessment, a key step in strengthening institutional frameworks and anti-corruption measures.
The discussions were attended by senior IMF officials including Vitor Gaspar (Director, Fiscal Affairs Department) and Yan Liu (Director, Legal Department).
Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported that the Kenyan government had sought assistance from the IMF to conduct a governance diagnostic assessment in a bid to eliminate graft and corruption.
In March 2025, the IMF launched the Governance Diagnostic Assessment in Kenya at the request of President William Ruto’s administration, aiming to root out corruption and improve public resource management.
The audit, led by IMF Deputy Division Chief Rebecca Sparkman, will focus on macroeconomic governance areas such as fiscal and central bank operations, financial oversight, market regulation, and anti-money laundering.
Despite public skepticism over relying on the IMF rather than local bodies like the Auditor General and EACC, the government insisted that the assessment will support long-term economic growth and accountability.
Kenya’s push for new IMF funding programme
The meetings come as Kenya seeks to negotiate a new funding arrangement with the IMF to support its budget and economic recovery efforts.
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Kenya and the IMF mutually agreed to cancel the ninth review of the current Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Extended Credit Facility (ECF) loan programmes, which were launched in April 2021.
During a visit to Nairobi from March 6 to 14, 2025, led by IMF official Haimanot Teferra, both parties discussed Kenya's economic outlook and fiscal challenges, ultimately agreeing to pursue a new loan arrangement.
Kenya has formally requested a fresh programme as it navigates issues such as debt sustainability and revenue mobilisation.
Since 2021, Kenya has received approximately KSh 402.54 billion under the EFF/ECF arrangements, with an additional KSh 93.1 billion approved under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) since 2023.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
