The World Bank has delayed Kenya’s Sh78 billion emergency loan after suddenly discovering that the government has no detailed plan explaining how the money will be spent.

Were there detailed spending plans for all the previous billions the World Bank approved, or has accountability only become fashionable after Kenya had already borrowed itself into a hole?

The World Bank cannot spend years financing a government whose appetite for loans is larger than its ability to explain expenditure, then act shocked when another request arrives without a proper plan.