Finance Minister and Central Banker of the Year: The regional winners
Only a handful of people have come out of the IMF-Kenya struggle with any credit. Micah Cheserem tops the list. The central bank governor of Kenya is a reformer who has voiced his disapproval at the hardliners' refusal to cooperate with the IMF.
Negotiations to resume the IMF's $220 million enhanced structural adjustment facility collapsed in July as a result of the government's failure to clamp down on corruption. Now it is left to Cheserem to try to stabilize an economy that is ready to explode.
Despite the recent political upheaval and a lurching shilling, the governor of the central bank has done an admirable job. He has teamed up with finance minister Musali Mudavadi to work towards renewing the IMF relationship. They are eager to discuss a possible shadow programme with the IMF which would provide advice but no credits.
The central bank responded to the IMF decision by intervening to stabilize the exchange rate and working to keep the domestic money market tight. By mid-August $100 million of foreign exchange reserves had been spent to protect the Kenyan shilling.