The International Monetary Fund has told Kenya that it must reduce its alarming fiscal deficit, ensure a sustainable public debt regime and abolish the interest rates cap to put the economy back on a strong footing, AllAfrica reported. This came at the conclusion of Article IV Consultations on Kenya by a team from IMF, who had been in the country for two weeks. It also came at a time when Kenya unveiled a $24.3 billion budget for the 2018/19 financial year, with a staggering $822.3 million funding shortfall. National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich has therefore announced austerity measures, with a possible slowdown on development expenditure, something that could have a far-reaching impact on Kenyans. “Every institution must tighten its belt,” Rotich said when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget. “We have adopted a tighter fiscal framework to reduce expenditure. We have to cut expenditure across the board so that we can match with our revenue.”
