Kenyans kick against IMF loan

Kenyans have begun signing an online petition asking the International Monetary Fund (IMF) not to give the government any more loans citing corruption.

Through the hashtag #StopLoaningKenya, Kenyans have circulated the online petition link while also giving more reasons why no more lending should occur.

The discussion started days after IMF approved a 257bn Kenyan shillings ($2.4bn; £1.7bn) loan for the country’s Covid-19 response.

According to reports, Kenya’s public debt has grown by more than 1 trillion shillings in the last one year.

Kenyans online has quoted President Uhuru Kenyatta’s statement that the country loses two billion shillings daily to corruption.

Meanwhile, Kenya’s Treasury Secretary Ukur Yattani defended the loan saying it was important for the recovery of the economy that was badly hit by Covid-19.

The online petition has continued to attract signatures from Kenyans who have also commented on the IMF social media accounts, asking the institution to make the government account for previous loans.

Edited by Christopher Ojilere