UNITED NATIONS, August 27 -- While the IMF states publicly that it no longer engages in conditionality, it is reportedly requesting as a condition for loans significant budget cuts in Jamaica, as well as Serbia, St. Lucia and the Maldives. At the IMF's forthnightly briefing on August 27, Inner City Press asked IMF Spokesperson Caroline Atkinson about "what's seen as the IMF dictating cuts in government spending as a condition for a loan... Please confirm what changes are being requested by the IMF." Video here, from Minute 9:18, IMF's transcript below.
Ms. Atkinson replied that there are "discussion between the IMF and Jamaican authorities" and argued that the "authorities are designing the macro economic program... they are in the lead on." She said "I don't want to go into a discussion of particular issues." Then she ignored Inner City Press' request, in the same question, for answers on the Maldives, and on Serbia at the provincial level.
The requests or "macro economic programs" done which negotiating with the IMF look suspiciously similar, and undercut the argument that each government is really in charge. The governments also try to avoid questions of how they have given in to the IMF. Last week Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding, speaking at the opening of a new financial center for the Scotiabank Group in the Jamaican capital, refused to say "whether the cuts were required by the International Monetary Fund as a condition for borrowing $1.2 billion to stabilize its budget under the multilateral lender's special drawing rights." Is this the new IMF?
Similarly, in a question submitted during the IMF briefing but ignored (or censored), the IMF played a wheeler-dealer role in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its mining sector. Inner City Press asked, in writing, "did the IMF's suggested changes in the country's mining deal with China result in any offsetting changes in China's commitment to Congolese infrastructure development? Is the IMF involved in or did it consider the DRC's proposed Inga Dam?"
At the IMF's request, the DRC cut its guarantee of income from the mines to China, in connection with which China cut its investment commitment from six to three billion dollars. As one analysis interviewed by Inner City Press put it, DRC will now borrow money from the IMF instead of taking it from China. The analysis describe the IMF as doing European powers' work for them, trying to ween a country away from China. The dam named above will reportedly supply power to southern Europe, from a region where than 30% of the population has electricity. This is the new IMF? Watch this site.
From the IMF's August 27, 2009 transcript:
I have a question online about Jamaica. It's asking, "In Jamaica there are protests about what's seen as the IMF dictating cuts in government spending as a condition for a loan. Please confirm what changes are being requested."
As you know, there are discussions that have been underway with the IMF and the Jamaican authorities. The authorities themselves are designing their macroeconomic program and that is something that they are very much in the lead on. I don't want to go into discussions about particular issues and I think that we've been having good discussions with the authorities. We are impressed by the fact that they are taking measures and considering measures and have committed as it is very important as we've been stressing recently to a program that will be very much their program.
