International lenders have been accused of supporting policies that favour the wealthy while at the same time increasing the burden on the poor in developing countries.
According to Stealing the Future, a report released in Nairobi by The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA), the Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG), and the Okoa Uchumi Campaign, the Kenyan government is putting the interests of a rich few people ahead of the public, especially young people.
“Kenya’s youth, vibrant and ready to lead, are instead met with joblessness, shrinking opportunities, and rising inequality. The wage burden of the state grows, not to serve the people, but to sustain an overfed elite that has expanded the cabinet, multiplied advisers, and entrenched itself in power with no regard for the suffering it leaves in its wake,” TISA Executive Director Diana Gichengo said in the report’s foreword.
Civil society groups meeting in Nairobi in May 2025 for the release of the report singled out the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which they claimed backs government policies without properly checking where the money goes, thus making it easy for the government to escape accountability by borrowing while ignoring citizens’ needs.
“None of us is invited to discuss the revenue estimates. We’re not being asked to sit down and review how much was made from income tax in each region, value-added tax (VAT), corporate tax, or how many waivers have been granted to various sectors. They want us to keep talking about expenditure. When we’re called for public participation without being shown where the money comes from, we’re being asked to approve a blank cheque,” said Mwalimu Mati, the report’s principal author.
The civil society groups accused the government of looting public resources, dismantling oversight institutions, and condemning an entire generation to a future without jobs, dignity, or hope.
“Parliament, the supposed voice of the people, has devolved into an enclave of silence and complicity, shielding corruption rather than challenging it. Oversight institutions are weakened daily, and devolution – our best hope for people-centred development – is starved and sabotaged. The state has robbed the farmer, the processor, the artists and the small industrialist of the capital they need to grow, as high interest borrowing drains the economy and stifles local investment,” Gichengo said in Stealing the Future.
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The IMF has been championing Kenya as an economic success story in East Africa, projecting its GDP to reach an impressive US$132 billion in 2025. However, the report argues, this macroeconomic gloss hides a disturbing truth: that IMF-backed economic agendas are facilitating a system where government policies increasingly favour a small, wealthy elite, often through measures such as proposed tax exemptions for share trading, while the average citizen bears the brunt of increased VAT on essential requirements and a deepening cost-of-living crisis.
For years, critics have pointed to a pattern of fiscal measures that appear to coddle the wealthy while squeezing the common citizen. Recent proposals, like the Finance Bill 2025, have included controversial elements such as exemptions on capital gains tax (CGT) for investors trading shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Proponents argue that such provisions stimulate investment and position Nairobi as a financial hub. However, the reality is that these benefits accrue to a small segment of the population already possessing significant capital, while the majority grapple with VAT on essential goods and services, and stagnant wages. As one financial analyst from Kenya Banking Insights noted, “Zero CGT allows the wealthy to trade shares tax-free, while ordinary Kenyans face VAT on essentials… removing CGT could reduce revenue, potentially leading to higher consumption taxes or service cuts.”
The IMF provides important budgetary support and loans aimed at ensuring fiscal stability. However, these financial packages invariably come with stringent conditions that are often centred around “fiscal consolidation”, frequently translate into austerity measures, subsidy removals on essentials like fuel and food, and aggressive tax collection drives. Although the fund states that these measures are necessary for debt sustainability and economic health, the human cost can be severe. A Jacobin magazine analysis published in March 2024 said IMF-backed policies have historically pushed Kenya into cycles of rising debt and unaffordable prices, with new loans and their attached conditions often exacerbating the crisis for the poorest. The public outcry against the 2024 Finance Bill, which was linked to IMF loan conditions, demonstrated the deep resentment towards policies perceived as externally imposed and locally burdensome.
Compounding Kenya’s economic woes is the country’s substantial debt burden, significantly influenced by large-scale Chinese contracts for infrastructure projects. While developments like the Standard Gauge Railway were presented as national triumphs, the opaque terms and high costs associated with the loans for their construction are under scrutiny. A considerable slice of Kenya’s revenue is now diverted to servicing this debt, which stood at over Ksh755 billion (about US$5.8 billion) to China alone by April 2024. This immense financial pressure limits the government’s capacity to fund essential public services, often pushing it to borrow more or increase taxation on its populace.
This perceived inequity, crushing debt, and IMF-imposed austerity have ignited a firestorm of discontent, particularly among Kenya’s youth. Generation Z, digitally savvy and acutely aware of the diminishing prospects before them, has emerged as a potent voice of opposition. The Gen Z-led protests against the 2024 Finance Bill were a clear demonstration of their refusal to inherit a future they feel is being systematically eroded by bad policies and crippling debt. Their organised resistance, extensively documented by institutions like IEA Kenya, demands economic justice and a fundamental shift in governance priorities.
In this charged environment, civil society organisations (CSOs) are amplifying the call for accountability. The Stealing the Future report is one of the latest in a stream of demands for transparency and an end to corruption.
Gichengo said the report captures the “raw anger and urgent clarity” of a generation betrayed. “What was once promised as development has become a betrayal, where public funds are siphoned to fuel extravagance, empower private interests, and protect the architects of impunity.”
The Stealing the Future report says government spending is out of control, with money being used on large offices, expensive contracts, and benefits for top officials, while health, education, and basic services are being cut. At the same time, higher taxes and more borrowing are making life harder for ordinary Kenyans.
Mati highlighted the government’s shifting priorities. It is proposing to cut Ksh12.7 billion (US$98.3 million) from basic education, Ksh4 billion (US$31 million) from irrigation, Ksh7 billion (US$54.2 million) from crop development, Ksh2 billion (UD$15.5 million) from the national social safety net, and Ksh3.2 billion (US$24.8 million) from the Children’s Services Department. At the same time, they are increasing the defence budget by Ksh20 billion (US$154.8 million).
“Who is the priority in this country? Is this Vision 2030? Why is the government abandoning well-laid plans and policies? There’s only one conclusion: it is now more interested in political survival than in sound economic management,” he said.
The report cites pending bills of over KSh700 billion (US$5.4 billion) as evidence of a government that signs contracts it cannot honour. Small businesses, especially those supplying goods and services to counties, are bearing the brunt, with many forced to shut down or give bribes to be paid what they are legally owed.
Despite reforms on paper, the authors argue, institutions tasked with checking executive power – Parliament, the Auditor General, and the Controller of Budget – have either been undermined or co-opted.
“Conflict of interest is endemic in our system, and the consciousness of what constitutes a conflict is extremely blunted,” said AfriCOG’s Executive Director, Gladwell Otieno. “Because of the opacity surrounding beneficial ownership, it’s very difficult to trace these conflicts.”
The June 2024 “Gen Z Uprising” is described in the report as a wake-up call. Sparked by new tax laws, the demonstrations revealed the extent of public disillusionment with both domestic governance and international institutions.
“Gen Z showed the way in terms of organisational power and standing up to let the government know it was not in agreement with the proposals. The government was shaken by the uprising. Kenyans have the power in their hands – Gen Z showed how people can take back the power they donated to the government, which is not acting in their interests. We’re not helpless; we just don’t realise our own strength,” Otieno added.
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The report details allegations of high-level corruption, including accusations by former Attorney General Justin Muturi and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua of misuse of climate financing, irregular debt deals, and manipulation of digital service platforms for personal gain. None of these has been formally investigated.
Mati explained, “This administration suffers from serious internal corruption… China has decided to refinance 16 roads that had already been financed. Somehow, Kenya managed to draw down all the money and not complete the projects. Now, China is lending us another US$300 million for roads we have half-completed. There’s a problem of moral hazard: you keep lending to someone who keeps coming back for more, but the money never reaches those who need it the most.”
Cyprian Nyamwamu, the Executive Director of Future of Kenya Foundation, underlined the systemic issues: “If you elect me to make policies that benefit only me and my friends, why would I create jobs or ensure accountability? As a member of Parliament or the Executive, I help expand the budget deficit, borrow more, and ensure policies benefit us – those in power – rather than the people.”
The coalition is demanding a public audit of Kenya’s debt, stronger independent institutions, and a moratorium on new borrowing until transparency is restored. They are also calling on the IMF to re-evaluate its engagement with the Kenyan government and to centre the voices of citizens – especially the youth – in its policy assessments.
“The proposals in the budget and the Finance Bill show no government commitment to addressing Kenya’s economic and debt crisis. If anything, leaders display arrogance and a short-sighted clinging to privilege, even as austerity is imposed on taxpayers and the most vulnerable. By planning to increase Kenya’s unsustainable debt burden for their own consumption, this government is stealing the future of Kenya’s youth. The ‘no new tax’ motto is exposed as empty PR, and once again, the government is failing to read the writing on the wall,” Mati said.
