The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Wednesday, May 3, heaped praises on President William Ruto for the country's economic trajectory.
While meeting the Head of State in Nairobi, Kristalina noted that she was impressed by the economic direction Kenya was taking.
She noted that this had been made possible by stringent measures that had been made by Ruto after taking over from Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kristalina was particularly impressed by the government’s dynamism of investment, prudent fiscal measures and transparency in governance have set the country on the path of success.
“We commend you for what you are doing on your fiscal measures. The country is certainly headed in the right direction,” she told the President.
The IMF boss who was on a three-day visit to Kenya further revealed that the Fund would support Kenya in three key areas.
On top of the agenda was a meeting with Ruto to discuss prospects for Kenya and how IMF can help.
“We are going to look at how the Fund can support objectives of stronger growth, more inclusive growth and better economic performance,” she stated.
On the second area of cooperation, Kristalina revealed that she was going to meet leaders of the United Nations system to see how Kenya and Africa in general could be helped economically.
“It is a challenging time to discuss how we can collectively support our members to bring down inflation, to address the cost of living crises and to lift productivity for growth,” she stated how Kenya would benefit from her visit.
Lastly, she explained that the last day of her visit would involve a meeting with World Trade Organisation Ngozi Okonjo and ministers from across the continent to present an IMF paper detailing the recovery path for developing nations in Africa.
“The IMF paper will talk about how trade can contribute to growth and employment,” she explained.
Kristalina noted that the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area was enormous and the IMF would make specific recommendations on how to tap into such potential.
President William Ruto assured Kristalina that his administration was committed to managing the country’s debt to sustainable levels.
In particular, he pointed out that the government had cut down on new projects and stopped subsidy programs that were draining the country’s resources.
“We commit to staying the course, especially on fiscal discipline and giving priority to projects that will have circulation of money,” the President remarked.
