Tax & Spend
Kenya Requests IMF Audit for Corruption Crippling Its Finances
- Western nations had urged Kenya to seek the assessment
- Kenya ranks 126 out 180 on Transparency’s corruption index
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Kenya has asked the International Monetary Fund for an in-depth assessment of how corruption and mismanagement of state resources drain its public finances.
Chronic corruption in the East African nation was a major driver of the mass demonstrations that paralyzed the country in September and saw protesters storm parliament demanding a government overhaul. Although countries have to request the IMF audit, western governments had urged Kenya to seek the so-called “governance diagnostic” to help it complete a long-delayed review of a $3.6 billion financing program to unlock a much-needed $600 million disbursement, according to two Nairobi-based diplomats.