Ex-IMF adviser: Kenya should improve safety nets for the poor

A section Mukuru Kwa Reuben slum in Nairobi where vulnerable families live. [File, Standard]

A former adviser to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on Kenya and other developing countries to wean themselves off IMF programmes, arguing that the Bretton Woods institution's prescriptions often harm rather than empower developing economies.

The criticism comes as Kenya prepares to negotiate a new IMF arrangement, following the sudden end of an existing one and a period of social unrest triggered by previous IMF-backed policies.