By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, March 8 -- While Hungarian minister Tamas Fellegi says in his upcoming visit to the International Monetary Fund in Washington he will "meet with management," when Inner City Press asked IMF spokesman Gerry Rice on Thursday, Rice said "no meeting with management is anticipated," only with the mission chief.
Inner City Press asked where things stand, including on proposed amendments to Hungary's Central Bank law. Rice said the IMF is looking for "sustained commitment on major policy issues before proceeding with discuss on a program... including the issue of the Central Bank law."
While most questions taken at the biweekly IMF briefing concerned Greece, Inner City Press and several others also asked about Egypt. Asked about the impact of the rift between Egypt and the US about the non-governmental organization workers, Rice claimed "we are international financial institution of 187 countries, not effected by bilateral relations among two member countries." Even if one is the US, with its quota and voting strength?
Footnotes: the IMF by deadline left two of Inner City Press' question unanswered:
South Sudan has cited the IMF as supporting its oil transfer fee offer to Sudan of 69 cents a barrel. Has the IMF played a role in this fee negotiation, and this price?
Senegal's actual growth rate has recently been measured as barely one half of what the IMF estimated. Was the IMF wrong? Or what happened?
And on an IMF conference call this week when Inner City Press asked if the IMF's mission to the Philippines considered charges that the Central Bank there may have leaked the bank records of Chief Justice Renato Corona, the answer was that it hadn't been considered... yet. Watch this site.
