Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Sri Lanka, Long Defended by IMF, Now Slammed for Rajapaksa Tax Games, Human Rights Not Shown


By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 3 -- The International Monetary Fund, after giving Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa government money in July 2009 just after its "Bloodbath on the Beach," has today belatedly acknowledged that things did not work out as the government projected.

  In an IMF report embargoed until 4:30 am on the US' East Coast on December 3, the IMF says of Sri Lanka that "revenue performance has been weak thus far in 2013.
  To some extent, low revenues reflect the weaker imports, but the numerous tax exemptions and tax administration weaknesses remain the important causes of lower-than-expected revenues."

  In many places, this is called "corruption." But the IMF at least at the staff or communications level has repeatedly resisted criticizing Sri Lanka in any way. Inner City Press has periodically posed Sri Lanka questions to the IMF's "Online Briefing Center" during their bi-weekly briefings.

  Spokespeople Gerry Rice and William Murray have proceeded as if the questions weren't posed, leaving a lower-ranked "IMF Spokesperson" whose name can't be used to send boiler plate defenses of Sri Lanka's performance. Recently leadership of the IMF's Asia Pacific unit switched; could that be related to this less craven assessment?

  Now, IMF Directors see "remaining vulnerabilities, including the recent rise in nonperforming loans, and risks from the increase in external borrowing by banks and private entities on commercial terms. Given Sri Lanka’s high level of debt and potential vulnerability to external shocks, they emphasized that close monitoring is warranted."
On human rights as well - and these are not unrelated. Watch this site.