You won’t believe the crazy conditions RUTO agreed to be given Ksh156 billion loan by World Bank – Look!

 

Monday, June 3, 2024 – President William Ruto had to sell his soul to secure a Ksh156 billion loan from the World Bank last Thursday.

The loan comes with stringent conditions aimed at modernizing Kenya's economic and administrative landscape.

The government's commitments include the operationalisation of the Treasury Single Account and a full transition to an e-Procurement system by the public sector, a measure backed by both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

This shift to e-Procurement is expected to reduce procurement-related spending by 10 to 15 per cent, translating to an annual saving of approximately Ksh 90 billion.

All Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) must complete their procurement using the e-Procurement system by 2027.

In addition, the government will consolidate the public sector wage bill through the approval of a Payroll Management Policy, eliminating manual payrolls and rationalising allowances for employees of state corporations.

These measures aim to reduce the public sector wage bill from 47 per cent of total revenue in 2023 to 35 per cent by 2027.

Furthermore, the government plans to increase the proportion of reviewed and verified declarations of personal interests of public officials to 85 per cent by 2027.

In the education sector, the government aims to boost the number of students enrolled in tertiary education, including Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and universities, from 362,834 in 2023 to 500,226 by 2027.

One of the most contentious aspects of the loan agreement involves the integration of refugees into the Kenyan economy.

President Ruto's government has committed to simplifying procedures for issuing Class-M job permits and updating regulations to recognise refugee identification documents.

The full implementation of the Refugee Act of 2021 is also a condition of the loan.

The World Bank estimates that up to 400,000 refugees could be integrated into the community by 2027, representing three-quarters of the population in Kenya's two largest refugee camps.

The Kenyan DAILY POST