IMF concludes governance review mission in Kenya

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concluded a two-week governance scrutiny mission in Kenya, aimed at ensuring the public offices are properly managed.

Conducted from June 16 to 30, 2025, the review aimed to identify weaknesses in governance and corruption vulnerabilities that could impact Kenya’s economic performance. The team did not disclose the details of their findings.

The IMF delegation, led by Rebecca Sparkman, engaged with a wide range of government institutions responsible for public financial management, tax and expenditure policy, procurement, mining, financial regulation, and anti-corruption enforcement.

“The Governance Diagnostic aims to identify macro-economically critical governance weaknesses and corruption vulnerabilities, and design an action plan with specific, sequenced recommendations and reform priorities,” IMF said in its latest communication.

The team also consulted Kenya’s Central Bank, oversight agencies, members of the National Assembly, and non-government stakeholders including civil society, the private sector, and international partners.

The assessment was carried out under the IMF’s 2018 framework for enhanced engagement on governance.

It focused on evaluating the effectiveness of Kenya’s legal and institutional frameworks in addressing corruption risks across core state functions.

The findings from the visit will inform a draft report to be shared with the Kenyan government later this year.

The report will include a sequenced and prioritised reform plan aimed at addressing governance-related vulnerabilities with macroeconomic implications.

“Collaboration on the Governance Diagnostic will continue over the next several months,” read the statement from IMF.

The latest review follows increased calls for Kenya to request an IMF assessment of corruption and governance issues as part of a push to unlock lending that has been stalled by the shelving of proposed tax hikes last year.

So far, the IMF has published governance diagnostic reports on 14 countries since 2014, including Ukraine, Cameroon and Sri Lanka, and additional diagnostics are underway, according to the Fund's website.