By Samuel Ouma
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Facebook live broadcast was thrown into disarray following disruption by Kenyans with anti-loans comments on Thursday evening.
Kenyans’ comment section of the 24-minute broadcast was full of remarks calling on the international lender to desist from issuing Kenya loans under the tag stop loaning Kenya.
The enraged Kenyans castigated IMF for indirectly funding corruption in the East African nation by giving the government more loans despite the misappropriation of the previous ones.
“It seems you’ve got nothing between your ears. Kenyans are tired of paying loans that were stolen by the corrupt president. Stop confusing Kenya to Kenyatta,” said Tonny Mwangi.
“The cartels in IMF are responsible for the atrocities in Kenya committed by the govt due to the loans,” Reiterated James Oreri.
Gonzag Nick Odero said, “We dont want any loan from you, we are overburdened by the loans, which are being embezzled by few corrupt leaders in the Government of Kenya. We are tired.”
“The future we choose should not include burdening future generations with unnecessary financial obligation,” added Odhiambo Evans.
The meeting christened the exchange: Conversation of better future featured IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva and Christiana Figueres.
The duo deliberated on the effects of Covid-19 and climate change on the economy.
“Over 100 countries realise that climate is crucial and the risks can affect their finances. They understood that we can create green energy and that we as the IMF can help them create policies and a better understanding of climate risks,” Kristalina said.
Early this month, Kenyans flooded social media protesting a $2.34 billion the lender loan to Kenya, saying the country is over-borrowing.
More than 160,000 Kenyans signed an online petition urging the IMF to cancel the loan, noting that loans end in individual pockets instead of wired into the development schemes.
However, they failed to convince IMF to cancel the loan. As of June 2020, Kenya’s public debt stood at Sh7. 06 trillion ($70 billion), which is equivalent to 65 percent of GDP.
