OREANDA-NEWS. Mr. David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), made the following statement today in Nairobi at the end of his visit to Kenya during May 9–10, 2016:

“I am impressed by Kenya’s achievements in recent years. Despite strong global headwinds, real GDP growth averaged 5.5 percent per year and inflation broadly remained within target during 2013–15. There have been significant improvements in public infrastructure, in particular in electricity generation and the road network. Kenya has also made remarkable progress in improving access of the population to financial services, including through mobile banking. Kenya has become an important destination of capital inflows from advanced and emerging markets. Many structural reforms have advanced, including in the areas of devolution, public financial management, and business regulations.

“We agreed with the authorities that continued reforms are needed to sustain economic growth and spread its benefits to the population. In particular, it will be important to undertake a growth-friendly reduction in fiscal deficits over the medium term to maintain debt sustainability and reduce external current account deficits. To this end, we support the government’s effort to strengthen revenue mobilization, review its expenditure priorities, and increase the quality of expenditures. Also, recent challenges in the financial sector have demonstrated the urgency of continuing to strengthen supervision and regulation of the banking system, as well as to bolster the financial system’s safety nets.

“My visit confirmed my view that Kenya has set the basis to make steadfast progress in advancing national development. The IMF will support Kenya in this journey through policy advice and capacity building. Should adverse external developments jeopardize the country’s development path, Kenya can rely on IMF financial support in the context of insurance-like precautionary facilities available for the country over the next two years.

“I would like to express my profound appreciation to the Kenyan authorities for their warm hospitality during my visit. I had the opportunity to meet and exchange views with His Excellency, President Kenyatta, Cabinet Secretary for Finance Henry Rotich, Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya Patrick Njoroge, business leaders, and representatives of the civil society. I also had the pleasure to speak with students at Strathmore University in Nairobi.”