Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has disclosed that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and school capitation disbursements are among the focal areas being assessed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Kenya as part of an ongoing anti-corruption initiative.
Speaking on Saturday, June 4, Mbadi stated that the Kenyan government had invited the IMF to conduct a diagnostic mission as part of a broader effort to enhance public financial governance and combat corruption.
The IMF team, which has already concluded its mission on June 30, is expected to release a final report by October 2025.
“We feel education, which is taking the largest chunk of our budget, needs to be looked into in terms of strengthening the systems. Capitation: Are we paying for students who are in school, or are we paying for students who exist on paper?” Mbadi posed.
The CS further noted that the TSC’s payroll—one of the country’s most significant recurring expenditures—is also under examination.
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“We have a huge payroll of about Ksh400 billion annually for paying teachers. We need to ensure it is clean, efficient, and free from ghost workers or inflated figures,” he said.
According to Mbadi, the IMF review is focused on uncovering corruption risks and proposing reforms in several sectors, including education, healthcare, procurement, and public works. He added that the government proactively suggested the sectors to be assessed, highlighting health and infrastructure as priority areas.
“We know our systems. So we guided the IMF on where to look,” he explained.
While the IMF is scheduled to publish its findings in October, Mbadi stressed that the final decision on making the report public would rest with the Cabinet.
“From where I sit, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be published. But that will be a Cabinet decision,” Mbadi clarified.
The mission, which ran from June 16 to June 30, was led by Rebecca Sparkman and involved specialists from various IMF departments—including Fiscal Affairs, Legal, Finance, Monetary and Capital Markets, and Strategy, Policy and Review—as well as the World Bank. The team engaged with both government bodies and civil society to build a comprehensive understanding of Kenya’s governance gaps across key public sector areas
