Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u on Monday stated that Kenya will be seeking help from global monetary institutions including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to exit the Financial Action Task Force's grey list.
While appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Public Debt and Privatisation, the CS noted Kenya would also seek validation from the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.
According to the CS, the multilateral donors had pledged support for Kenya to aid the country comply with FATF regulations on curbing money laundering.
"We are going to get a lot of technical assistance from IMF, World Bank, the EU has promised a lot of critical support, also the US and the UK. We are going to come up with a timetable of how we are going to work across our institutions," the CS stated.
UK, US, IMF and World Bank would further aid Kenya in its debt liability management and prevent it from exposure to such incidents as grey-listing and debt distress.
A grey list includes countries under increased monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force due to certain deficiencies in anti-money laundering regulations. However, efforts put by the countries to counter money laundering, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction are appreciated.
Njuguna Ndung'u also dismissed allegations that the country’s credit rating would worsen owing to the current ranking by FATF.
He also refuted claims raised by the parliamentary committee that Kenya rushed to acquire a new Eurobond after realising it risked being grey-listed.
“In terms of credit rating, that may not worsen the credit rating, it is the institution’s DNA that is being questioned,” the CS stated.
“Remember in 2009/2010 I fought very hard, Kenya was going to be blacklisted. This is a new administration in transition and with your support, we made 17 amendments to the law,” he added.
On February 23, the Treasury announced that Kenya had officially been placed on the grey list for international money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The CS stated that the Kenya Kwanza government, after the inauguration, embarked on several interventions and initiatives to prevent the country from being grey or black-listed.
