Kenya on Wednesday launched the Kenya External Resources Policy (KERP) that provides the legal framework for guiding the sourcing and management of overseas aid into the country.
Cabinet Secretary in the National Treasury, Henry Rotich, told journalists in the capital Nairobi the policy will also guide the reporting of external assistance that is channeled to non-state actors.
“The policy will lead to more effectiveness of Official Development Assistance (ODA) received by national and county governments,” Rotich said.
The policy which was approved by Cabinet in 2014 was developed following consultations between government, development partners and the civil society.
Rotich said challenges in the management of ODA “continue to limit the effectiveness and efficiency of overseas funds in Kenya.”
The most common forms of ODA include concessional loans, grants and technical assistance.
The East African nation is a signatory of a number of global commitments on aid effectiveness such as the Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development.
The Treasury chief said that the policy comes at an opportune time. “It will ensure that external resources have a huge impact in the country.”
Rotich said Kenya has been receiving development assistance since independence in 1963 and the annual average ODA inflows as a percentage of GDP has been fluctuating between 3.9 and 10.7 percent.
He added that given the enormous public investment required to catalyze the desired economic growth rate, Kenya will need additional resources to finance the budget deficit. Enditem
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(Via: NewsGhana)
