Kenya has applied for new IMF lending programme, finance minister says

NAIROBI, March 24 (Reuters) - Kenya has applied for a new lending programme from the International Monetary Fund in order to factor in unused money from the current programme, which both sides walked away from last week, Finance Minister John Mbadi said on Monday.

Kenya and the IMF agreed last week to scupper the ninth and final review of the current programme, which was set to expire next month.

Mbadi said the decision to do so was down to time limitations. Kenya has struggled to get its economy back on track after a borrowing spree led to a surge in debt-servicing costs.