Impact of International Monetary Fund Debt Burden on Kenya's Economic Sovereignty (2022-2024)

Abstract

This study assessed the impact of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) debt burden on Kenya’s economic sovereignty between 2022 and 2024. The research was motivated by growing concerns that IMF-supported programs, while offering fiscal stabilization, imposed conditionalities that constrained Kenya’s policy autonomy and long-term development agenda. Guided by three objectives, the study examined how IMF-related structural adjustment programs influenced citizen wellbeing, the extent to which fiscal policies affected national sovereignty, and the strategies adopted to mitigate these effects. The research employed a pragmatic paradigm and a convergent mixed-methods design, integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches. A sample of 200 respondents was selected from a target population of 400 stakeholders, including government officials, IMF representatives, economists, civil society leaders, and members of the general public. Data was collected through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative responses were subjected to thematic content analysis. The findings revealed that IMF structural adjustment programs significantly reduced access to affordable public services, with a majority of respondents linking loan conditionalities to diminished social spending. IMF-imposed fiscal policies were found to limit Kenya’s ability to exercise independent economic decision-making, particularly in areas of taxation, budgeting, and development planning. Mitigation strategies, such as domestic revenue mobilization and diversification of financing sources, were adopted but perceived as only partially effective. The study concluded that Kenya’s economic sovereignty remained constrained under IMF arrangements, underscoring the need for context-specific debt management strategies and inclusive policymaking to balance external obligations with national development priorities.