Africa August 26, 2021 KENYA: Constitutional referendum dead, presidential succession less certain Kenya, Politics Anne Frühauf, Malte Liewerscheidt On 20 August, the Court of Appeal upheld a high court ruling declaring several aspects of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) unconstitutional. The ruling represents another blow to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s and opposition leader Raila Odinga’s... Read More...
Africa June 15, 2021 KENYA: Modest budget, but downside risks loom large Emerging Markets, Kenya, Politics Malte Liewerscheidt The budget presented to parliament last week appears modest, given that 2022 is an election year. However, the proposal carries considerable downside risks on both the revenue and expenditure fronts. If these materialize, Kenya may be forced to request debt restructuring... Read More...
Africa May 18, 2021 KENYA: What next for Kenyatta’s BBI plans? Kenya, Politics Anne Frühauf, Malte Liewerscheidt Just as political support for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) looked unassailable, the high court has ruled it unconstitutional. The ruling represents a major loss for President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga in their battle to overhaul the... Read More...
Africa February 17, 2021 KENYA: IMF deal heralds return to international debt markets Kenya, Politics IMF Anne Frühauf, Malte Liewerscheidt Reforms under Kenya’s three-year USD 2.4bn deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) face political constraints. The Treasury’s fiscal consolidation strategy seems slow but may be gambling on a strong economic recovery and leeway provided by continued pandemic uncertainty. In fact,... Read More...
Africa February 1, 2021 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: Eurobond Political Risk Monitor Africa, Emerging Markets, Kenya, Politics DSSI, Eurobonds, COVAX Anne Frühauf, Malte Liewerscheidt Our Eurobond Political Risk Monitor, presented in the attached table, provides a go-to guide of the main political and policy issues in 17 sub-Saharan African (SSA) sovereigns that have issued Eurobonds as of January 2021. In this edition, our... Read More...
Africa January 12, 2021 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: Implications of Kenya’s DSSI accession Africa, Emerging Markets, Kenya, Politics Malte Liewerscheidt On 11 January, the Paris Club announced that Kenya would benefit from the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) from 1 January to 30 June 2021. At the start of a crucial... Read More...
Africa November 25, 2020 KENYA: Political incentives remain juxtaposed to budget consolidation Emerging Markets, Kenya, Politics editorial Malte Liewerscheidt Controversial constitutional amendments proffered with the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) will necessitate a public referendum by mid-2021. The referendum will effectively be a high-stakes test-run for the presidential election slated for August 2022. The political elite’s preoccupation with electioneering for the... Read More...
February 24, 2020 KENYA: Budget Policy Statement aims to square the circle Africa, Emerging Markets, Kenya IMF Malte Liewerscheidt Arabic <img src="https://d12ee1u74lotna.cloudfront.net/images/flags/ja.png" class="amazon-ai-flag-image" alt="ja... Read More...
January 23, 2020 KENYA: Al-Shabaab’s impact on the economic and fiscal outlook Africa, Emerging Markets, Kenya al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda, Kenya, Somalia, Terrorism, Tourism Malte Liewerscheidt Arabic <img src="https://d12ee1u74lotna.cloudfront.net/images/flags/ja.png" class="amazon-ai-flag-image" alt="ja... Read More...
January 15, 2020 KENYA: Implications of the cabinet reshuffle Africa, Emerging Markets, Kenya IMF, Kenya, Kenyatta, Ruto Malte Liewerscheidt Arabic <img src="https://d12ee1u74lotna.cloudfront.net/images/flags/ja.png" class="amazon-ai-flag-image" alt="ja... Read More...
