$1Billion Loan has been Allotted: By the World Bank to Kenya in a Strategy to Boost the East African Nation to finish off a Gaping Appropriation Debt

By Abdul Rahman Bangura–

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS (NADN) Freetown, Sierra Leone- World Bank has ratified a $1 billion loan for Kenya, as a road map to enable the East African nation to finish off a gaping allotment depletion and by extension, to grasp the financial traumas from Coronavirus Novel Coronavirus pandemic.

The loan, begun before the health emergency commenced, is the succeeding ever such immediate lending for the budget from the World Bank, after the first was distilled in 2019.

“Its approval is timely, since it will help fill the financing gap generated by the severe, ongoing shock to Kenya’s economy,” the World Bank asserted in a statement.

The budget deficit has swollen to 8.2% of GDP in the financial year to the end of June, from an initial forecast of under 7%, mainly due to reduced tax collection and lost revenue from VAT and income tax cuts.

Finance Minister – Ukur Yatani affirmed the approval was a voice of belief in the government’s handling of the economy.

“The… WB (World Bank) does not provide budget support to countries with a weak macro framework,” he wrote on Twitter.

The bank said that $750 million of the loan, which will come from the International Development Association, will be repaid over a 30-year period, after a grace period of five years, with 1.35% interest.

The second component of $250 million, which will come from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, will have a market-based interest rate of about 2%.

“Both amounts are highly concessional,” Felipe Jaramillo, the World Bank’s Kenya Boss told an online news conference.

The loan comes two weeks after the IMF approved $739 million in emergency financing, a move that has supported the shilling currency.

For New Africa Daily News Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent

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