This archive report was first published on 27 June 2020.
June 27, 2020 - Kenya's economy has shown resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) governor Patrick Njoroge.
Although there was a slight decline in the country's gross domestic product in March when the first case was reported, data has shown that the economy began to recover in May.
"The expectations that we are going to sink much further have not been born by the reality, even so, I don't think the numbers in the end reveal the pain to individuals," Njoroge said during a Monetary Policy Committee press conference on June 26.
He attributed the recovery to the agricultural sector, which had posted significant improvement in May, helping to cushion the country, which largely depends on farm produce.
"We are a diversified economy. We depend 20% on our immediate neighbours, 40% on the regional market and we boast of a diversified export market," Njoroge explained.
However, he warned that the country was not out of the woods yet, despite the data showing otherwise.
"We do not want to be bullish, I would even say it's foolish to say the worst is behind us. We need to be cautious. At the end of the day, it's not GDP that matters," Njoroge cautioned.
