Back-to-School Headache, Farmers Reaping Millions After Govt Price Change

Hello Moneymakers, Kubasu here. In this Newsletter, we cover the back-to-school headache for parents, coffee farmers smiling all the way to the bank, Kenya’s upcoming Ksh97 billion loan, and 97 Kenyans scammed Ksh15,000 each.

Situational Awareness: Money254 is launching a Grocery Prices tracker for 10 basic household goods, such as sugar, rice, and maize flour, beginning this Monday. The tracker will show how much these goods retail for in four major retailers: Carrefour, Naivas, Quickmart and Chandarana. We are basically telling you who is the cheapest. Stay tuned for our weekly coverage.

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Parents Bearing the Brunt

As schools nationwide begin reopening today, parents are grappling with the high cost of stationery. Reports show that few turned up at bookstores over the weekend, on the eve of resumption.

Why This Matters: As the economy continues to struggle, parents have had to dig deeper into their pockets to facilitate their children's return to school in terms of stationery and school fees.

Several parents lamented that the reopening of schools was scheduled at an inconvenient time, as many of them, who rely on a salary, had not yet been paid. This, according to the parents, was despite the rising cost of books and school uniforms.

"The economy is tough right now. Some items that retailed at Ksh100 now go for Ksh200, and if you have multiple children, that adds up — and that’s not even counting school fees and other charges," one parent lamented.

Another parent complained that ahead of the reopening, some schools asked students to report back with laptops, items many parents said were financially unattainable for their households.

What Activists Are Saying: On the flip side, Elimu Bora, in a report, indicated that some primary and junior secondary schools had introduced illegal fees, passing the burden onto parents despite the government running a free education programme at those levels.

These include admission, development, desk, and exam fees, which range between Ksh500 and Ksh15,000.

"You find a parent who has five children in school and is forced to pay up to Ksh15,000, without which a child is sent home," a parent lamented, according to Citizen TV.

Principals’ Justification: Principals, as recently as March 2025, explained that they had to exclude students from learning as operating schools was becoming difficult due to the delayed disbursement of government capitation.

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Farmers Smell Better Coffee

Coffee farmers in Kirinyaga are ecstatic after the fortunes from their produce were recently upended thanks to a recent price adjustment for the country’s top export.

Why This Matters: For years, coffee farmers — alongside those dealing in tea, macadamia, and other cash crops — lamented that their revenue was continually eroded by unscrupulous middlemen and punitive policies.

In their recent sale, the farmers noted that they were selling a kilo of coffee at a substantial Ksh145, with some going as high as Ksh155.

"Our coffee is now good. It has changed; now it is like gold. The government has helped us. We are hoping that in five years, we shall have bought a Prado," Joseph Gichoya, a farmer, told the press.

Catch Up Quick: In mid-April, Money254 reported that the government had increased prices in key sectors such as coffee, macadamia, milk, sugarcane, miraa, tea, avocado, and leather.

Macadamia prices were raised from Ksh24 to Ksh100 per kilogram, coffee from Ksh50 to Ksh130 per kilogram, and milk from Ksh37 to Ksh50 per litre, among others. [Read the full coverage here.]

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Kenya Expecting Ksh97B Loan From World Bank

Kenya has been cleared to receive a Ksh97.08 billion loan from the World Bank after President William Ruto resolved a prior bottleneck by referring the Conflict of Interest Bill 2025 back to the National Assembly. Business Daily reported that the funds will be received by June this year.

Catch Up Quick: In the past week, the state accepted a loan of Ksh64 billion from the UAE, which is part of the Ksh174 billion loan facility negotiated by President William Ruto’s administration in 2024. Treasury CS John Mbadi also signed a Ksh8.9 billion (€60 million) loan agreement with OPEC Fund President Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa for the Economic Transformation and Green Recovery Support Programme (ETGRSP).

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IMF Sets New Condition for Kenya Before Approving Loan

The IMF has set new conditions for Kenya, requiring the country to meet specific revenue and spending targets before unlocking new funding, Business Daily reported. The National Treasury and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) stated that the IMF wants to see the final budget estimates for 2025/26 and clear revenue-raising measures before approving a new deal.

This comes after Kenya missed key targets under the previous Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programmes, resulting in the loss of Ksh110 billion in planned funding.

Catch Up Quick: President William Ruto’s administration last month cancelled a 4-year agreement with the IMF valued at Ksh466 billion, noting that it would re-evaluate its engagement terms with the Bretton Woods institution in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariffs and 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests. Kenya forewent Ksh110 billion with the cancellation.

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Senate Steps In as 95 Scammed Ksh15,000 Each for Jobs Abroad

The Senate has invited 95 people (57 drivers and 38 manual labourers) from Kisii County to appear before the Labour Committee today and narrate their ordeal of paying Ksh15,000 each in hopes of travelling abroad for jobs.

The victims will also be expected to "submit relevant documentation or evidence that may assist the committee in its deliberations."

The matter was first raised by Senator Gloria Orwoba, who, in a letter dated March 19 and addressed to the National Employment Authority Director General — and copied to Labour CS Alfred Mutua — called for a refund of the medical fees paid by the victims. She revealed that the applicants had been assured of 300 vacancies, which did not exist.

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Kenya to Repay Ksh5.1 Billion in Loans

Kenya will pay Ksh5.1 billion daily to its creditors this year as it struggles under a growing debt burden that has now spiralled to Ksh11 trillion, a report by Daily Nation has revealed.

The government is expected to spend over half of its annual budget, amounting to Ksh1.8 trillion, on debt repayments alone, underlining the financial pressure facing Kenya’s economy.

The burden of maturing loans comes at a time when public resistance to new taxes is at an all-time high, further complicating efforts to stabilise the economy.