By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, May 28, updated -- On the day Yemen talks were supposed to resume in Geneva, but were canceled by the UN, Inner City Press asked the International Monetary Fund for the status of its program.
IMF spokesperson William Murray read out the question -- "on Yemen, given the cancellation or postponement of the talks that had been scheduled to begin today (May 28) in Geneva, what is the status of the IMF's program and any review of it?" -- then read out a response:
"I’ve got two separate questions from Matthew Lee, of Inner City Press. Matthew’s question on Yemen, given the cancellation of talks, what’s the status of the IMF’s program?
A: In
the context of Yemen and the IMF, the sit is still under review and
being closely monitored. We don’t have a time line yet established for
any active resumption of discussions over completion of the review of
the existing Yemen program. The program is still in place but we’re
monitoring developments in Yemen. Come back to us as time goes on. "
But in place with whom? Hadi in exile? The Houthis?
Likewise on Burundi, Inner City Press asked Murray about the status of the IMF's "pre-election" program, now that the legislative elections have been briefly delayed, and questions loom over the presidential elections (the UN Security Council "penholder," France, told Inner City Press on May 27 that the conditions for elections are not met).
Murray, citing the "current security situation," said
"Well, another situation under review, but let me give you our current view on Burundi. Of course the background is well known, current developments. We are following those developments closely, regarding the extended credit facility, that’s the facility that has been in place for some time. The program was recently approved and it’s fair to say that given current security, and political issues, the timing of our next discussion with the authorities is yet to be determined. We shall continue to monitor the situation in Burundi and if possible, will determine that at a later stage, when to set the time for a second review of the credit facility."
"Well, another situation under review, but let me give you our current view on Burundi. Of course the background is well known, current developments. We are following those developments closely, regarding the extended credit facility, that’s the facility that has been in place for some time. The program was recently approved and it’s fair to say that given current security, and political issues, the timing of our next discussion with the authorities is yet to be determined. We shall continue to monitor the situation in Burundi and if possible, will determine that at a later stage, when to set the time for a second review of the credit facility."
On
Nepal, on which Inner City Press asked the IMF again about any debt
relief or use of new facilities, Murray said:
"Just to give you a quick status report on Nepal, we had a mission on the ground, they’ve done an initial assessment. It’s not final yet. They will be going back to Kathmandu to complete some analytics because there was another very very severe earthquake. There is a plan for a donors meeting in late June, June 25 I believe, a lot of that analysis which we’re also doing on the macro economic front with the World Bank and other multilateral institutions, that will all feed into the June 25 donors conference, at which point I would expect a very active strategy for Nepal to surface. Right off the top, we have a rapid credit facility that Nepal could certainly have access to, which is one option. In terms of debt relief, that is pending further analysis. As you know we’ve had some reforms in our credit facilities that have certain conditions attached to how a country can qualify for debt relief. It’s unclear at this juncture whether Nepal does or not, but certainly it’s under review."
We'll have more on this.
"Just to give you a quick status report on Nepal, we had a mission on the ground, they’ve done an initial assessment. It’s not final yet. They will be going back to Kathmandu to complete some analytics because there was another very very severe earthquake. There is a plan for a donors meeting in late June, June 25 I believe, a lot of that analysis which we’re also doing on the macro economic front with the World Bank and other multilateral institutions, that will all feed into the June 25 donors conference, at which point I would expect a very active strategy for Nepal to surface. Right off the top, we have a rapid credit facility that Nepal could certainly have access to, which is one option. In terms of debt relief, that is pending further analysis. As you know we’ve had some reforms in our credit facilities that have certain conditions attached to how a country can qualify for debt relief. It’s unclear at this juncture whether Nepal does or not, but certainly it’s under review."
We'll have more on this.
Back on May
14, Inner City
Press asked
IMF
spokesperson
Gerry Rice:
"On Burundi, after the IMF's announcement of $6.9 million in the run up to elections, now with General Godefroid Niyombare saying Pierre Nkurunziza is no longer in power, what is the status of the IMF's funds and program, when will it be reviewed?"
Rice took this question and replied that the "IMF is following the current developments in Burundi very closely. The Fund-supported program that was recently approved, it's fair to say that given the current security situation, the timing of our next discussions with the authorities has yet to be determined."
Tw weeks ago on April 30, the IMF told Inner City Press on Burundi
"Many thanks for your question. Please see our line below:
'We are continuing to monitor developments in Burundi. Regarding the ECF-supported program that was recently approved, our next meeting with the authorities is tentatively scheduled to take place in June, at which time we will assess progress toward the completion of the 7th review.'"
So, no more June?
On May 14 Rice also answered Inner City Press on Nepal, saying an IMF team is "on the ground" and considering all feasible options. Debt relief?
"On Burundi, after the IMF's announcement of $6.9 million in the run up to elections, now with General Godefroid Niyombare saying Pierre Nkurunziza is no longer in power, what is the status of the IMF's funds and program, when will it be reviewed?"
Rice took this question and replied that the "IMF is following the current developments in Burundi very closely. The Fund-supported program that was recently approved, it's fair to say that given the current security situation, the timing of our next discussions with the authorities has yet to be determined."
Tw weeks ago on April 30, the IMF told Inner City Press on Burundi
"Many thanks for your question. Please see our line below:
'We are continuing to monitor developments in Burundi. Regarding the ECF-supported program that was recently approved, our next meeting with the authorities is tentatively scheduled to take place in June, at which time we will assess progress toward the completion of the 7th review.'"
So, no more June?
On May 14 Rice also answered Inner City Press on Nepal, saying an IMF team is "on the ground" and considering all feasible options. Debt relief?
On Ghana,
ICP asked "On
Ghana, does
the IMF have
any comment or
view on the
country upping
its monetary
policy rate up
to 22 percent,
and on the
decline in
value of the
cedi? How does
this impact
the IMF
program?"
The
IMF responded,
after the
briefing:
"We
welcome Bank
of Ghana's
commitment to
reduce
inflation and
bring it
gradually down
to its medium
term target,
as envisaged
under the
IMF-supported
program. The
increase in
the policy
interest rate
decided by
Bank of
Ghana's
monetary
policy
committee
yesterday (May
13) aims at
mitigating
inflationary
pressures,
such as those
related to the
depreciation
of the
exchange rate,
in order to
achieve the
inflation
objective."
On
Jamaica, ICP
asked "On
Jamaica, it is
reported that
the IMF's “new
chief of
missions to
Jamaica, Uma
Ramakrishnan,
said yesterday
that the
missing of the
nominal
primary
surplus target
by the country
under its
Extended Fund
Facility is
not a big
deal.” Can you
clarify the
IMF's position
on the missing
of this
target?"
The
IMF responded,
after the
briefing:
Here
is our answer
on Jamaica:
n The staff team that was in Jamaica from May 4-12 provided its perspective on this in the press release that was issued on Tuesday.
n Implementation of Jamaica’s EFF-supported reform program remains strong. All quantitative performance targets through end-March were met, with the exception of the target for the primary surplus of the central government, which was narrowly missed as revenue came in lower than projected in 2014/15.
n While the target was missed in nominal (Jamaican dollar) terms, the primary surplus is still estimated at 7.5 percent of GDP in 2014/15—the central fiscal anchor of the program.
n At the press conference, the team explained that deviations under IMF programs do happen, and it was also noted that one missed performance criterion over eight reviews is still an exceptionally strong performance by IMF standards.
n The staff team indicated that in its view, the authorities remain well on track to achieve the central goals of their economic reform program, and the team explained that a missed performance criterion can be waived by the IMF’s Executive Board under a standard procedure.
n The staff team that was in Jamaica from May 4-12 provided its perspective on this in the press release that was issued on Tuesday.
n Implementation of Jamaica’s EFF-supported reform program remains strong. All quantitative performance targets through end-March were met, with the exception of the target for the primary surplus of the central government, which was narrowly missed as revenue came in lower than projected in 2014/15.
n While the target was missed in nominal (Jamaican dollar) terms, the primary surplus is still estimated at 7.5 percent of GDP in 2014/15—the central fiscal anchor of the program.
n At the press conference, the team explained that deviations under IMF programs do happen, and it was also noted that one missed performance criterion over eight reviews is still an exceptionally strong performance by IMF standards.
n The staff team indicated that in its view, the authorities remain well on track to achieve the central goals of their economic reform program, and the team explained that a missed performance criterion can be waived by the IMF’s Executive Board under a standard procedure.
