Just four days after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) released Sh7.4 billion to support government’s efforts towards containing the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge says they are set to pump more cash into the economy.
The Sh7.4 billion was money that was not recovered during the demonetization of old Sh1000 notes in the country.
Mr. Njoroge says the global pandemic is set to devastate the economy this year, projecting a a slow growth of 3.4 pc from 6.2pc. “As a result of the pandemic, economic growth is expected to decline significantly in 2020 from a baseline estimate of 6.2 per cent to possibly 3.4 per cent, arising from reduced demand by Kenya’s main trading partners, disruption of supply chains and domestic production,” said Njoroge in a statement.
As of yesterday, CBK’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) stated the Central Bank Rate (CBR) which is it’s benchmark lending rate had been lowered by 1pc and the cash reserve ratio (CRR) also slashed by from 5.25pc to 4.25pc to facilitate banks with morefunds for consumer lending.
Dr Njoroge said the bank is doing all it can to boost the government’s efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Kenyan Business Feed is the top Kenyan Business Blog. We share news from Kenya and across the region. To contact us with any alert, please email us to [email protected]