International Monetary Fund, a FRIEND or a FOE?

Dear Kenyans, what Kenya is going through has little to do with Uhuru, it is actually a result of a futuristic leader who has been surrounded by a team that wasn't in line with the goals and direction of our country.

The country needs restructuring, with great leadership and proper management system our country can be straightened in less than 5 years.

Uhuru is not the enemy, the enemy is what inhibits development. His failures are our failures, we need not worry about his legacies because judged by history he is the result of our own decisions.

Blaming the president shifts focus from developmental to political. The challenge right now, is how to get things back to the proper place to avoid another wasted 10 years? We need to shift our approach from blame to finding proper solutions. For a mere citizen that means standing up against bad leadership by being critical of whom they elect.

Now, just to touch on the story of IMF, given the recent COVID situation, the government has been collecting less tax for each subsequent years. This leaves us with two options, if we do not want the government to borrow money, then we have to be ready to deal with high taxes (which is yet another hot chili for the citizens). Of all the external sources that the government of Kenya can raise debt from, IMF and World Bank have the best terms. In the sense that they are cheaper, long-term, and have a grace period where Kenya would not be required to pay as it clears the bad expensive loans.

But the IMF loans also come with conditions for the government to discipline itself and raise more taxes, cut expenditure and narrow the deficit. As such, the government will have to raise taxes and reduce subsidies on things like fuel, putting a strain on households’ pockets. Besides, public servants will now contribute to their pensions and loss-making government businesses will be privatized or merged, or closed, which will impact jobs as well as the economy.

Based on the above, as citizens, we only have the power to elect and force accountability on the people we elect. What we are seeing now, is compensating feedback of the decision we made nine years ago and can only be corrected next year during the general elections depending on how wise we shall vote. 

Believe it or not, the only option we have is the IMF loan.