By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 15 – When
the
International
Monetary Fund
held its
biweekly
embargoed
briefing on February
15, Inner
City Press
submitted
questions about
Zimbabwe, Iraq, Sierra Leone, Cameroon and Hungary. Spokesman Gerry Rice took Inner City Press' Zimbabwe question, including the word usurious, then provided assurances that Madame Lagarde met the new president in Davos and the IMF stands ready to help - when other arrears are paid off.
The IMF did not (yet?) answer
these Inner City Press questions: On Iraq, please comment and clarify:
MP Abbas Bayati has rejected reports that the IMF has said loans to the
central government will be issued on the condition Baghdad guarantees a
minimum portion of the national budget for the Kurdistan Region. He said
IMF does “not investigate the details of the loans [spent] by Iraq.”
True? In Hungary, Norbert Maxin and Bela Bukta have been cleared of
handing over damaging information to, or spying for, the IMF. What is
the IMF's comment, and its interactions with the two, now that the case
is over and the IMF can (and should) speak? Follow
up on Sierra Leone, where it's said the IMF instead of using the word
“stop” used a softer diplomatic word “delay” of payments... what the
Minister of Finance and Baratay are doing is spin the fact. If they win
the elections, they will now begin to implement the IMF conditions at
the detriment of the ordinary people. In the first place, they agreed on
the conditions at the detriment of the ordinary people of this country;
their only motive was to receive the money for themselves and use the
remainder to fund the elections so that they can stay in power." Back on February 1 on Sierra
Leone, Inner
City Press
asked: "please
specify the
status of
IMF's payments
under the $224
million
program to the
government as
relates to the
upcoming
elections and
conditions
such as
cutting
subsidies on
rice and fuel." Deputy
IMF Spokesman
William Murray
replied that a
review that had been
slated to be
concluded in
December has
not been; he
dodged on
the relation
to the
election but it
definitely
calls into
question the
denials of
Sierra Leone's
finance
minister and
his demand
that Africa
Confidential
get fact
checkers. On
Zimbabwe,
Inner City
Press asked,
"On Zimbabwe,
please specify
the IMF's
advice for
clearing
foreign debt.
Is it, as
reported, cuts
to public
sector wages,
reducing farm
subsidies,
improving
transparency
in the mining
sector &
reaching an
agreement on
compensating
farmers?"
Murray talked
up Managing
Director
Lagarde's
meeting(s) in
Davos but said
the country
still has a
ways to go.
Transcript and
video
soon. Back
on January 18,
Inner City
Press asked
the IMF about
Yemen, Somalia,
Tunisia and
Cameroon. On
Yemen, it
asked "With
continuing
holes in the
Yemeni Central
Bank, what if
anything is
the IMF
doing?" IMF
Spokesperson
Gerry Rice
read out Inner
City Press'
question and
then said
that the IMF
is helping
to build the
Central Bank's
capacity amid
the
humanitarian
crisis.
Transcript to
come. On
Somalia, Inner
City Press
asked of reports
that “Somalia
owes around
$4bn making it
almost
impossible for
Mogadishu to
access new
funds from the
IMF.” The IMF
puts the
figure at $5.1
billion. What
explains the
difference,
and how could
Somalia access
new IMF funds?" Rice
replied that
records were lost in
the war and
are being
reconstructed;
for now $5.1
billion is the
figure. Again,
transcript to
come, -
and more on
Cameroon and
the continued
undermining of
the Internet
and the
economy by
this big IMF
recipient,
Paul Biya's
government. Before
Rice's long
Tunisia
answer, Inner
City Press
had asked: "On
Tunisia, what
is the IMF's
comments on
its role in
imposing
austerity on
the country
since the
popular
uprising of
January 2011?
Did the IMF
exerted
sustained
pressure on
the Tunisian
Central Bank
to stop
intervening in
the currency
markets to
defend the
value of the
Tunisian
dinar,
increasing
imports?" The
IMF was prepared for
this,
emphasizing
for example
that cooking
oil will not
be subject to
the VAT, but
sweets and
alcohol will.
Video and
transcript to
come. Back
on
November 30,
Inner City
Press asked
about
critiques of
the IMF from
the Caribbean,
about Yemen, Zambia
and Kenya. The
first three of
these were
answered. IMF
Spokesperson
Gerry Rice
read out Inner
City Press'
question:
"Saint Lucia’s
Prime Minister
Allen
Chastanet has
said of the
IMF, 'If
you care about
the Caribbean,
you must
change the
rules of
engagement and
allow us to
help
ourselves.'
He's said the
billions of
dollars in
Caribbean
loans should
be
reclassified
by the IMF.
What is the
IMF's
response?"
Rice said
Managing
Director
Lagarde is
aware of the
criticism
from the Caribbean forum a
few weeks ago
and that a
study is
underway
including of catastrophe
bonds
but, he said,
the IMF cannot
currently do
the requested
reclassifications to make countries
eligible
for concessionary
financing.
On Zambia, Rice
notes that
Inner City
Press at the
UN had asked,
"Treasury
Secretary
Fredson Yamba
has said
Zambia expects
to host an IMF
mission before
the end of the
year and hopes
to have a $1.3
billion loan
deal in place
in early 2018.
'Come
2018, we must
have a final
(IMF)
programme. It
has taken a
long time
because the
parameters
have been
changing.'
What is the
IMF's status
with Zambia?" Rice
said after
the pause in
August,
progress
has been made,
the interest
is there, but
some
information
and clarifications
are still
awaited. "We are
waiting for
further data
and details on the
government's
external
borrowing
plans," he
said. On
Inner City
Press' Yemen
question,
Rice said the
IMF "donor
grants will be
needed" for
the payment of
wages
and social
assistance and
that the IMF is
willing to
help with
macro-stability
once the
conflict is
over. But when
will that be?
Here was and
is Inner City
Press' Kenya
question: In
Kenya, IMF rep
Jan Mikkelsen
is quoted that
“discussions
about the
current
programme and
what will
follow after
the expiration
in March are
expected to
begin soon,
with the new
government
taking office.
The
authorities
have indicated
that they are
interested to
continue a
programme
relationship
with the
IMF."Has the
IMF taken note
of, and what
is its comment
on, the
critique of
the election
by Raila
Odinga and the
NASA
Coalition?
Would the IMF
also confer
with the
opposition?"
We'll have
more on this.
Back on
September 28,
Inner City
Press asked
among other
things about
the IMF
negotiating
with a reputed
money launder
in
Congo-Brazzaville,
and about
corruption
charges
against
Finance
Minister Ishaq
Dar of
Pakistan, also
in IMF talks.
On the former,
IMF Deputy
Spokesman
William Murray
said the IMF
is again in
Brazzaville,
for the third
time, having a
“series of
contacts” on
financial
assessment. He
declined to
confirm or
deny the IMF
is talking
with Orion
Oil's Lucien
Ebata, but
this is widely
known, as is
his dealings
in cash, via
the Panama
Papers. We'll
have more on
this. Inner
City Press'
Pakistan
question was
and is: “On
Pakistan, it
is reported
that “the IMF
said it had
been told by
Pakistani
officials that
the
restrictions
[on luxury
imports] would
be removed
within a year
but Mr Abbasi
now says his
government was
planning to
impose more.”
Also, what is
the IMF
comment on the
corruption
charges
against
Finance
Minister Ishaq
Dar?” But when
re-submitting
through the
IMF's online
form, with
allows only
300
characters,
Inner City
Press took out
“[on luxury
imports]”
thinking the
IMF would know
what
restrictions
were being
referred to,
since they
imposed them.
They did not,
and did not
address the
Ishaq Dar
corruption
allegations.
Yet. Watch
this site.
