Kenya has missed out on the International Monetary Fund’s debt service relief to poor countries announced on Monday. IMF’s executive board on Monday approved immediate debt relief to 25 of its member countries under the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said the CCRT can currently provide about $500 million (Sh53 billion) in grant-based debt service relief, including $185 million (Sh19.6 billion) pledge by the U.K. and $100 million (Sh10.6 billion) provided by Japan as immediately available resources. The global lender urged other donors to help chip into the Trust’s resources and further boost IMF’s ability to provide additional debt service relief for a full two years to the poorest member countries. According to Focus Economics Kenya is ranked at position 17 among the world’s poorest countries with a Gross Domestic Product Per Capita of $1960.5 (Sh207,636.55).

Source: The Star April 15, 2020 00:56 UTC