Despite desperate manoeuvres by the government, the Kenyan shilling last weekend recorded its all-time low against the dollar, reaching over 137 shillings for a US 'greenback'.
All this at a time when the country is trying to recover from the severe economic crisis, amid inflation and falling prices. A situation aggravated by the war in Ukraine, but above all by the price of fuel, which, according to global market rules, must be paid in dollars.
President William Ruto, who inherited a large part of this deficit from the previous government, of which he was nevertheless vice-president and which he may have given up months before last August's elections in order to run as a candidate, has tried to remedy the major problem of crude oil imports by asking Arab countries for a six-month credit on supplies.
However, according to Kenyan economic analysts, the benefits of this strategy will only be seen in three months' time, with fuel accounting for 28% of monthly dollar demand.
In the past month, the Kenyan currency has fallen 1.8% after falling 3.8% in April. If it is not 'free fall', the situation is certainly alarming, with the Central Bank of Nairobi having put in place very restrictive measures on those who are trying to speculate, which above all puts the country's middle class, which is the one that has already shown in the past that it can be Kenya's driving force, in spite of the rich who export more capital than they bring into the country, and the poor people, who are increasingly struggling with hunger and disease. As the experts point out, Kenya is among the world's developing countries that have what it takes to recover and represent one of the nations of the future, in terms of investment and potential for improvement, but we must first get out of this situation, and to do so, government commitment is not enough, we need the awareness of those who until now have only thought of enriching themselves.