Institute of Public Finance

🔵| IPF Advances Africa's Debt Reform Agenda 🤝 IPF joined African policymakers and financial experts at the African Union Dialogue on Debt Sustainability and Reform in Harare, Zimbabwe, to advance practical reforms strengthening Africa's debt architecture and accelerate implementation of the Common African Position on Debt. 📈 Key proposals included an African Borrowers' Platform to strengthen coordination among sovereign borrowers, alongside operationalizing the African Financing Stability Mechanism (AFSM) to provide liquidity and sovereign refinancing support during economic stress. 🔗 Read the full blog here:⤵️ ipfglobal.or.ke/ipf-advances-a…

🔵| IPF Advances Africa's Debt Reform Agenda 🤝 IPF joined African policymakers and financial experts at the African Union Dialogue on Debt Sustainability and Reform in Harare, Zimbabwe, to advance practical reforms strengthening Africa's debt architecture and accelerate implementation of the Common African Position on Debt. 📈 Key proposals included an African Borrowers' Platform to strengthen coordination among sovereign borrowers, alongside operationalizing the African Financing Stability Mechanism (AFSM) to provide liquidity and sovereign refinancing support during economic stress. 🔗 Read the full blog here:⤵️ ipfglobal.or.ke/ipf-advances-a…

🗞️ 🔵 Newspaper Round-Up 🔝 This Week’s Top Stories: 📌 Auditor General, budget boss flag growing appetite for public debt 📌 IMF endorses Kenya's sovereign wealth fund, urges strong governance frameworks mailchi.mp/ipfglobal/news…

Better budgets are only part of the equation. The real test is whether public spending delivers equitable outcomes for everyone. Through our technical support to Kitui County, we are strengthening Gender-Responsive Budgeting so that budget decisions are informed by evidence, equity, and impact. 💬 "Gender Responsive Budgeting enables us to look beyond numbers and understand how our policies, programs and budgets affect different groups within our communities." Highlights the Peter Kilonzo, County Executive Committee Member (CEC-M) for Finance and Economic Planning. This week our engagement highlighted a critical policy priority that seeks to institutionalize gender analysis across the entire budget cycle, supported by sex-disaggregated data and anchored in legal and institutional frameworks that outlast political transitions. 💬 "By integrating gender considerations into our planning and budgeting processes, we ensure that county resources are allocated fairly and that development benefits every resident." said Mr. Kilonzo

🔵| Rethinking Kenya's Bursary System 📚 IPF’s Annual National Shadow Budget 2026/27 analysis looked at how Kenya's fragmented bursary system, split across county governments, NG-CDF and PSSB, is losing effectiveness. 73% of sampled beneficiaries received support from multiple programs while others got none, and delivery inefficiencies persist despite billions in funding. ✅ Capitation payments to schools absorb over 95% of budget, far more efficient than bursaries. Redirecting bursary funds toward capitation could turn Kenya's funding shortfall into a surplus, making free secondary education achievable. 🔗 Read the full blog here:⤵️ ipfglobal.or.ke/rethinking-ken…

🔵| Closing the Own Source Revenue Gap 🏛️ Counties have the power to raise their own revenue, but most still fall short. Between 2023–2025, IPF and CRA trained 160+ revenue officers across Nairobi City, Laikipia, and Kitui, driving OSR growth of 9%, 22%, and 17% respectively. 🤝 Yet women traders,who are key revenue contributors, still face "gender-blind" systems with higher compliance costs. In Phase Two, IPF is embedding Women's Economic Empowerment into revenue reform for fairer, more effective tax systems. 🔗 Read the full blog here:⤵️ ipfglobal.or.ke/closing-the-ow…

Our co-convener, @StrathU, has published a new think paper drawing on @SingoeiAKorir 's remarks at the Regulatory Institutions Consultative Breakfast, and it lands on a question worth sitting with: can there be enduring trust without enduring rules? It makes a case worth reading: that the rules-based international order isn't a distant diplomatic construct, but the thing that makes everyday institutional trust possible; from the safety of medicines to the credibility of a financial licence. Read the full piece: strathmore.edu/news-articles/… #GlobalTrustSummit #GTS2026 #WeavingTrust

🔵 | RECRUITMENT ADVERT 🎯 Legal Research Fellow 📣 IPF is seeking a motivated and analytical Legal Research Fellow to join our growing thematic areas, an excellent entry-level opportunity for a recent LL.B graduate. This role offers an opportunity to build a career in legal and policy research, working alongside experienced researchers and policy professionals on public finance, governance and socio-economic development. 🗓️ Applications reviewed on a rolling basis until 4th August 2026. 🔗 Application details: ipfglobal.or.ke/wp-content/upl…

Highlights in the IPF Exchequer Releases Analysis for June 2026 ➡️ ipfglobal.or.ke/wp-content/upl…

🔵 | Exchequer Releases June 2026 Analysis 📣 Total revenue reached KSh 2,601 billion in FY 2025/26, missing the revised target by KSh 40 billion and the original estimate by KSh 154 billion, with growth driven mainly by a 9 percent (KSh 193 billion) rise in tax revenue that raises questions about the realism of revenue forecasting. See more on our analysis ⤵️⤵️ ipfglobal.or.ke/wp-content/upl…

🔵 | IPF CEO Speaks on Advancing Implementation of the AU STC Declaration on Sustainable Financing for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health through Cross-Sector Collaboration Every year, hundreds of thousands of women die during or after pregnancy and childbirth, while millions of children do not live to celebrate their fifth birthday. Most of these deaths are preventable when public resources are allocated, disbursed, and managed effectively. On the sidelines of the Joint 9th Session of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the IPF CEO @DWNdirangu joined policymakers and development partners for a high-level dialogue on translating the AU Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Financing for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health into measurable action. Speaking during the session, Mr. Ndirangu emphasized that stronger health outcomes depend on stronger public finance systems. 💬 "Sustainable health financing begins with sound public financial management. Countries must strengthen domestic resource mobilization, ensure predictable budget execution, empower health facilities with greater financial autonomy, and build financing systems that guarantee timely delivery of essential health services. Moving from commitment to implementation requires financing reforms that are embedded within public finance systems." Mr. Ndirangu highlighted three policy priorities for the AU to accelerate implementation: ➡️ Strengthen public financial management and domestic resource mobilization to ensure predictable budget execution and timely intergovernmental fiscal transfers. ➡️ Expand financial autonomy for health facilities within robust accountability frameworks, enabling facilities to sustain essential services even when government disbursements are delayed. ➡️ Secure sustainable financing for Essential Health Benefit Packages through realistic actuarial planning, predictable public financing, stronger revenue collection, and improved governance. As African countries pursue industrialization and economic transformation, resilient health systems must remain central to sustainable development. Delivering better health outcomes for women, children, and adolescents requires financing reforms that are integrated into national public finance systems and backed by strong accountability.

🔵 | Engaging Male Parliamentarians as Allies to Advance Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) Outcomes Gender equality cannot be achieved solely by women. It requires champions in every seat of power, including the men who shape our laws, approve public budgets, and influence national policy. Women's Economic Empowerment is not a women's issue. It is a priority for governance, economic growth, and public finance. Yet gender-responsive policymaking is often confined to a single committee or champion, despite the fact that the barriers limiting women's economic participation are embedded in legislation, budgeting, and public policy. Last week, we convened a workshop with @KEWOPA targeting male legislators from the National Assembly. A key focus was to: ➡️ Identify and address barriers to women's economic participation. ➡️ Apply a gender lens to legislation and policy development. ➡️ Scrutinize public budgets through a gender-responsive lens. ➡️ Strengthen parliamentary oversight of policies affecting women's economic outcomes. ➡️ Champion Women's Economic Empowerment within Parliament and their constituencies. When legislators are equipped to ask the right questions of every bill and every budget, gender equality moves beyond aspiration and becomes embedded in public policy. Building an inclusive economy requires informed leadership and shared responsibility. IPF remains committed to strengthening parliamentary leadership that advances equitable and sustainable economic opportunities for all.

🗞️ 🔵 Newspaper Round-Up 🔝 This Week’s Top Stories: 📌 Auditor General flags Sh30b Eurobond proceeds spending 📌 President promises full university funding amid budget shortfalls mailchi.mp/ipfglobal/news…

🔵 | Advancing Gender-Responsive Tax Policy IPF and Parliamentary Research Services (PRS) have formed a strategic partnership to collaboratively conduct a study on the intersection of taxation and gender. This collaboration will produce important evidence on how tax policies and practices differently affect women and men. The insights will directly guide the creation of a Gender and Tax Toolkit. The toolkit will equip legislators, parliamentary committees, and parliamentary staff with practical tools to embed gender-responsive approaches into discussions and decisions on taxation, financial inclusion, cost of capital, oversight and legislative processes. Beyond the research itself, this partnership represents a significant step toward strengthening the relationship between parliamentarians and technical institutions like PRS, laying the groundwork for sustained, evidence-based engagement and enhancing institutional capacity for informed decision-making on gender and economic opportunities.

At the Regulators Consultative Breakfast on 30 June, @KampMathias , Country Director of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung @KAS_Kenya, spoke passionately in a fireside chat about the challenges faced by public institutions not just in Kenya but globally. He left the audience reflecting on how we should reconfigure crisis management and build and sustain trust. We are proud to have KAS as a partner of the Global Trust Summit 2026. #GlobalTrustSummit #GTS2026 #WeavingTrust

🗞️ 🔵 Newspaper Round-Up 🔝 This Week’s Top Stories: 📌 State extends fuel VAT relief as Mideast war pushes up prices 📌 KRA collects Sh2.57 trillion in taxes as revenue jumps by 10.5pc mailchi.mp/ipfglobal/news…

Women traders are a key demographic in the county revenue ecosystem. We highlight the next phase of our work with Laikipia & Kitui counties ↘️ ipfglobal.or.ke/closing-the-ow…

IPF led by the CEO @Kiru_KE met H.E. Gov. Joshua Irungu of Laikipia County to review progress under the County Revenue Programme and launch the next phase of our partnership towards strengthening own-source revenue (OSR) policies and revenue administration.

🗞️ 🔵 Newspaper Round-Up 🔝 This Week’s Top Stories: 📌 Local borrowing stifling key infrastructure capital needs 📌 Big test for Ruto's funding model amid record intake, rising debts mailchi.mp/ipfglobal/news…

💡 Climate change isn't just environmental, it's developmental. 🔗 Kenya's NDC is embedded in Vision 2030, the medium-term plans, and the National Adaptation Plan, linking climate action to infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, and economic growth.