Recent Developments in
IMF-CSO Relations
The 2004 IMF-World
Bank Annual Meetings
were the first for the
IMF's new Managing
Director Rodrigo de Rato,
who assumed his post in
June. The meetings also
marked the 60th
anniversary of the
Bretton Woods agreement
on the founding of the
IMF and World Bank. The
meetings came after a
period of extensive
travel by de Rato,
including two visits to
Africa and one each to
Latin America and Asia,
that allowed him the
opportunity to hear wide
ranging views on the
global economy, issues
facing developing
countries, and the role
of the Fund.
In his
speech to the
meetings, de Rato
described his developing
perspectives. On the
question of how to
address the needs of the
low-income countries, de
Rato focused on the
Fund's core
expertise-the provision
of policy advice to
achieve macroeconomic
stability-and on the
need for increased trade
liberalization,
particularly through the
Doha round, and
increased aid from the
advanced economies:
We have seen
encouraging results
where such stability
has been complemented
by structural reforms
and by targeting
public spending to
areas of greatest
benefits to people.
Mozambique, Tanzania,
and Uganda have seen
sustained improvements
in economic
performance. Growth
rates have also picked
up in other African
countries that have
made progress in
curbing inflation and
establishing better
control of the public
finances. Where such
improvements in
policymaking are
evident, developed
nations should fulfill
their end of the
bargain by
liberalizing trade and
delivering aid. They
should improve access
to their markets for
developing countries'
exports and dismantle
trade-distorting
subsidies. There must
also be increased aid,
not just for the
countries under the
HIPC Initiative but
for others as well. In
some countries, we are
indeed seeing larger
inflows of foreign
assistance, including
to combat HIV / AIDS.
Other ideas for
increasing aid for
low-income members,
including deeper debt
relief and increased
grant financing, are
needed and welcome.
The Fund is ready to
help design polices
that would help
countries make the
most effective use of
these increased
resources. Better aid
coordination among
donors, and multi-year
commitments, are also
needed to make
development assistance
more effective. But,
first and foremost, we
need to increase aid
levels
The Annual Meetings
also offered the
opportunity for
representatives of civil
society organizations
(CSOs) to sit down with
staff members from the
Bank and the Fund to
discuss a range of
issues of mutual
concern. About 150
people from
organizations in 30
countries attended the
civil society dialogues,
including the second
annual townhall meeting
with leaders of the two
institutions. But recent
contacts have not been
confined to the Annual
Meetings. Immediately
after that gathering,
top officials of the
Fund and Bank met with
representatives of the
international labor
movement. Later in
the month leaders of the
Bretton Woods
organizations met with
leaders of the
World Council of
Churches in Geneva.
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Feature Article:
High-level
meeting of the World
Council of Churches,
World Bank, and
International Monetary
Fund
The first ever
meeting of the leaders
of the World Council of
Churches (WCC), IMF and
World Bank took place on
October 22 at WCC
headquarters in Geneva.
The main speakers
representing the three
organizations were World
Bank President James
Wolfensohn, IMF Deputy
Managing Director
Agustín Carstens, and
WCC General Secretary
Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia.
The meeting was
moderated by Cornelio
Somarruga of the Caux
Initiatives for Change
and former President of
the International
Committee of the Red
Cross, and also
addressed by Dr. Agnes
Abuom, President for
Africa of the WCC. IMF
Managing Director
Rodrigo de Rato was
unable to participate in
the meeting because of
an official commitment,
but participated in a
private meeting earlier
in the day with Kobia,
Abuom, Wolfensohn, and
Carstens. The afternoon
meeting, in which a
number of other
representatives of the
three organizations
participated, followed
several preparatory
meetings held since May
2002 (see Civil Society
Newsletter
April 2003 and
February 2004). The
meetings were initiated
after the management of
the two Bretton Woods
Institutions (BWIs)
expressed a wish to
engage in dialogue with
the WCC to improve
mutual understanding of
the organizations' work
in development.
The meeting focused
on establishing common
ground for efforts to
address global poverty,
and on exploring
continuing areas of
difference in approach
and views on development
issues. The session
concluded that the areas
of common ground are
large and significant,
and that the three
institutions should find
more effective ways to
work together in the
future. There was
agreement that the
dialogue process would
continue, and that it
would focus in the
period immediately ahead
on case studies that
could be expected to
clarify issues and
specific topics that
lend themselves to
common action.
The meeting was
characterized by a frank
and generally positive
exchange of views. In
his formal statement,
Kobia stressed the issue
of voice-in his view the
WCC has always
represented the
voiceless-and the need
for a world economy that
places people at the
center of development.
Growth is not enough, he
said; we must deal also
with the issues of
inequality. Kobia
concluded by focusing on
the issues of
environmental protection
and the democratization
in the BWIs.
Abuom said that
poverty is caused by a
failure of brotherly
love in the world. The
WCC is concerned with
the need to change the
market system, and has
not succeeded in
persuading the BWIs of
this need. Increased
trade alone does not
reduce poverty or
improve equity, she
said; there is a need
for redistributive
measures, and the world
needs just,
participatory, and
sustainable communities.
She criticized the BWIs
as undemocratic: with
Africa having only two
Executive Directors, the
institutions are
essentially a platform
for the industrial
countries. Highlighting
the issues of human
rights, she called on
the BWIs to look more to
their work through a
rights-based framework.
In sum, she said, the
dialogue must continue.
Wolfensohn reiterated
his deep conviction
about the critical role
of religions in the
issues of development.
He said he has spent
eight years trying to
build bridges with
faith-based
institutions. He
highlighted his concerns
regarding the role of
youth, gaps between rich
and poor, and too much
focus on the short-term
concerns of security
versus the long-term
problems of poverty. We
are, he stressed, facing
a serious crisis of
inaction after so many
promises and
commitments. Wolfensohn
said he was deeply
troubled by the WCC's
2002 publication "Lead
us not into Temptation",
which he said presented
an inaccurate picture of
the World Bank and its
mission, work and staff.
He focused also on how
the Bank approaches
issues of human
rights-largely through
its actions. He noted
that the issues of
governance-representation
and voice-in the BWIs
were issues for the
shareholders, not for
management. In
concluding, he called
for a two-year amnesty
between the WCC and the
BWIs and a determination
to work together on the
issues of poverty.
Carstens reviewed the
mandate and role of the
IMF, describing its work
in surveillance-the
regular monitoring and
consultation of each
member country's
economy-and in managing
crises. The IMF is
charged partly with
helping governments to
make difficult decisions
in difficult times. He
noted misconceptions
about its role and work.
He discussed the Poverty
Reduction Strategy
process and its origins.
He emphasized the
progress made through
the dialogue process as
a result of the hard
work of the staffs of
the three institutions.
He saw much to be hoped
for in the common ground
identified.
The ensuing
discussion included some
frank exchanges on
governance of the IFIs;
the "disciplinary role"
of the IMF; the role of
the Bank and Fund in
dealing with indigenous
peoples; and on
innovative sources of
development financing.
The conclusions focused
on the importance of
using the MDG framework
as a vehicle for
mobilization and action.
There was also
discussion of equity
issues. Kobia and Abuom
focused in their
concluding comments on
the path traveled
together and on the
common cause that linked
the three institutions.
After the meeting,
the leaders of the three
organizations issued a
joint statement,
calling the discussions
significant and useful.
The statement links to a
more detailed paper on
Common Ground and
Differences of View
between the Bretton
Woods Institutions (IMF
and World Bank) and the
World Council of
Churches, prepared
by the staff involved in
the discussions. This
innovative paper aims to
set out clearly areas of
agreement and
disagreement between the
BWIs and the WCC.
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The
2004 Annual Meetings:
Civil society
dialogues at the Annual
Meetings
The civil society
dialogues at the 2004
IMF/World Bank Annual
Meetings focused on the
role of the Bretton
Woods Institutions
(BWIs) in low-income
countries-in particular
in facilitating debt
relief and promoting
debt sustainability-and
the status of the
Poverty Reduction
Strategy Papers (PRSP)
process. Many of the
meetings were organized
by the IMF and World
Bank, but several events
were sponsored by CSOs.
The highlight was a CSO
townhall meeting that
brought together the
heads of the IMF and
World Bank as well as
the Chairmen of the
Development Committee
and the IMFC.
Participating were
nearly 150
representatives of NGOs,
labor unions,
faith-based groups, and
foundations from over 30
countries, all of whom
were accredited to the
2004 Annual Meetings.
The full list of
dialogues as well as
minutes of most sessions
will be available at
http://www.worldbank.org/civilsociety.
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Townhall
meeting with CSOs
Most of the
accredited CSO
representatives
participated in the
September 30
townhall meeting
with Gordon Brown, U.K.
Chancellor of the
Exchequer and Chairman
of the IMFC; Trevor
Manuel, South Africa's
Minister of Finance and
Chairman of the
Development Committee;
IMF Managing Director
Rodrigo de Rato; and
World Bank President
James Wolfensohn. This
was de Rato's first
meeting with global
CSOs, after meeting
local CSOs on recent
trips to Africa and
Asia. At last year's
Annual Meetings in Dubai
former Managing Director
Horst Köhler
participated in a
similar
session. This year's
meeting was chaired by
Aruna Rao, Director of
Gender at Work, and
Chair of the Board of
Directors of CIVICUS.
Speaking first,
Chancellor Brown said
that if the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs)
are to be met, the
international community
will have to
dramatically increase
the amount of
development aid that is
available in the next
few years. He said that
on present trends,
countries in sub-Saharan
Africa will achieve the
MDGs only by the year
2130-115 years late. "We
must find better methods
of financing development
aid so that the great
combination of economic
development, trade, and
development aid make it
possible to have a world
economy working for all
of the people all of the
time," Brown said.
If multilateral debt
relief is to match
bilateral debt relief,
additional money will
have to be generated, he
said, noting that the UK
has suggested that a
revaluation of IMF gold
reserves could take
place again. He said
there is undoubtedly
scope for action without
affecting the integrity
of the IMF's reserves or
the gold market. There
can be a move forward
under the leadership of
the World Bank and the
IMF, if the member
countries have the will
to do so, Brown
concluded.
De Rato told CSOs
that the IMF's gold
reserves have been used
as recently as five
years ago to generate
funds, and that
repeating that exercise
depends on the will of
the IMF Executive Board
and not of IMF
management. If the
political will exists to
use the gold, he said,
the Fund would find the
technical means to
achieve the objective.
He told CSOs the IMF has
a close relationship
with civil society and
that the Fund needs a
regular exchange of
views with CSOs to
perform its
responsibilities.
Discussing the IMF's
involvement in
poverty-reduction
efforts and debt relief,
de Rato said one of the
major challenges from
the 2004 IMF-World Bank
Annual Meetings was for
countries to step
forward to increase
aid-through some of the
new mechanisms that are
being discussed, but
also through traditional
channels.
Manuel told the
meeting that South
Africa's gold mining
industry employs tens of
thousands of workers
from South Africa and
neighboring countries,
and it has experienced
significant job losses.
He insisted that South
Africa needs to be heard
in any discussions on
the sale or revaluation
of gold reserves. He
said his concerns center
less on prices than on
volatility that could
cause job losses
affecting poor
countries. Answering a
question from Jubilee
Iraq on the cancellation
of odious debt, Manuel
said the issue is a very
tough call. He asked who
would make the
determination of whether
debt is odious: if
Iraq's debt is deemed
odious, why would that
decision not apply also
to the Democratic
Republic of Congo?
Manuel said there should
be rules on the issue
that apply equally to
all aspects of the work
of the Bank and the Fund
and that do not create
moral hazard.
James Wolfensohn said
any fair assessment of
the Bank's reaction to
the Extractive
Industries Review of
World Bank investments
in oil, gas, and mining
will conclude that the
Bank has come a very
long way. He said a
campaign launched
against the Bank has
claimed that "if you
don't do 100 percent,
you're doing nothing"
and this is not right.
The Bank believes it
would be wrong for the
institution to withdraw
from coal, oil, and gas
investments and has made
a significant
contribution to cleaning
up such projects. The
Bank has an important
influence on the
projects' environmental
standards.
In response to a
statement from the floor
on voice and
representation in the
BWIs, Manuel said the
issue is "an ongoing
battle" that addresses a
"deficit of democracy"
in the institutions.
Poor countries are
inadequately
represented, and it has
to be asked whether the
Bank and the Fund are
part of the multilateral
system or merely
arrangements between
debtors and creditors.
Other topics raised
in the Q&A session
included women's
participation and
visibility in the MDGs;
World Bank
conditionality; CSO
accreditation to the
Annual Meetings;
corruption; and
Argentine debt.
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An update on
the IMF's role in
low-income countries
At a September 30
meeting on the IMF's
role in low-income
countries (LICs), Policy
Development and Review
Department (PDR)
Assistant Director Mark
Plant told CSOs that the
right place to have a
conversation between
CSOs and the government
is in the participatory
Poverty Reduction
Strategy Paper (PRSP)
process. Plant said that
a PRSP process ideally
would lead to a policy
program supported by the
Poverty Reduction and
Growth Facility
(PRGF)-the IMF's
low-interest lending
facility for LICs- but
that in reality this
sequence does not always
occur. The goal remains,
however, of better
aligning the two
processes.
Participants in PRGF
program negotiations
(the IMF and the
government), he said,
need a system under
which discussions on the
PRSP can inform the
preparation of the PRGF,
which in turn can come
back and inform
subsequent discussions
on the PRSP. The Fund
and Bank hope to make a
move in that direction,
Plant said, by
transforming the
Joint Staff Assessment
(JSA) into the new Joint
Staff Advisory Note
(JSAN). The JSAN is
intended to provide
advice and feedback from
the Boards of the Bank
and Fund to the
authorities on a
country's poverty
reduction strategy,
rather than making a
snap judgment on whether
or not PRSP was a sound
basis for offering
concessional support.
Plant stressed that the
Fund would now make its
assessment of a
country's macroeconomic
framework public,
instead of making
implicit criticism. A
country's proposed macro
framework might be
aspirational, but the
Fund could observe that,
in its view, the
framework was
unattainable in, say the
next two or three years,
and explain why. This
would stimulate a debate
that should be more
fruitful for all
participants in the
process. People on each
side of the debate would
know exactly what the
other side was thinking.
The Fund's intention is
to put the participatory
process where it
belongs-in the PRSP-and
at the same time ensure
the PRGF is sensitive to
the agreements reached
in the participatory
process.
A questioner from the
floor noted that exactly
five years have passed
since former Fund
Managing Director Michel
Camdessus said in a
speech at the 1999
Annual Meetings that it
was time to respond to
"the cries of the poor."
The panel was asked
whether the Fund has
indeed responded to such
pleas. Another
questioner asked whether
the IMF is really a
pro-poor institution if
it took the Fund five
years to make statements
of commitment to LICs
and to include poverty
and social impact
assessments (PSIAs) in
the Fund's work. Staff
at the meeting noted
that programs supported
by the IMF now include
such pro-poor elements
as specified levels of
social or health
spending; social
components in national
budgets; poverty
targets; and social
goals. Also, the Fund
now publicly counsels
against wasteful
spending such as
purchases of
presidential jetliners.
Fiscal Affairs
Department Deputy
Director Peter Heller
stressed that although
the IMF has been
criticized as being
overconcerned about
inflation, it is the
poor who bear the worst
effects of runaway price
increases. He said the
IMF would not agree to
20 percent inflation,
which would mean prices
doubling every three
years. This is because
the poor would be the
most affected, while
those with assets or
good incomes usually
have hedges against
inflation.
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Other CSO
policy dialogues
- An October 1 panel
initiated by ActionAid
USA, Christian Aid,
and World Vision on "Integrating
HIV Into Economic
Policy Making,"
discussed three CSO
studies on HIV/AIDS
issues. Several Fund
and Bank staff
participated, but CSO
attendance was
extremely low. The
Fund was represented
on the panel by
Godfrey Kalinga,
Division Chief in the
African Department and
Kenya mission chief.
The session followed
the release of a
Fund response to
the ActionAid paper,
and focused on the
tensions between the
health and education
needs of developing
countries and the
budgetary constraints
that governments face.
- World Bank and IMF
staff discussed with
CSOs the "HIPC
Initiative, Debt
Sustainability and
Other Emerging Issues"
at a panel
discussion on October
1. CSOs
criticized HIPC for
failing to deliver on
its promises and urged
that the debt
sustainability
framework be linked to
the analysis of the
financial needs for
reaching the MDGs. The
Fund was represented
by PDR Department
Assistant Director
Mark Plant.
- On October 4
InterAction hosted two
panel discussions on "Taking
Stock of the PRSP
Process and Looking
toward the Future".
The first session
focused on the recent
evaluations of the
PRSP process by the
IMF's Independent
Evaluation Office
(IEO) and the World
Bank's Operations
Evaluation Department
(OED). IEO Acting
Director David
Goldsbrough spoke. The
second panel addressed
emerging PRSP issues
including process,
implementation, and
the upcoming 2005
Progress Report. PDR
Department Assistant
Director Mark Plant
presented the Fund's
perspective.
- An October 6
discussion on
"Revenue Transparency
and the Role of
Multilateral
Development
Institutions" at
the World Bank, the
International Finance
Corporation (IFC), and
the IMF, organized
jointly with the Bank
Information Center
(BIC), drew about 50
participants. The
meeting addressed the
role of CSOs in
revenue oversight; the
status of the IMF
Guide on Resource
Revenue Transparency;
the Extractive
Industry Transparency
Initiative (EITI); and
next steps on
supporting revenue
transparency through
IFI activities. The
Fund was represented
by staff from the
Policy Development and
Review, Fiscal
Affairs, African, and
Middle East and
Central Asia
Departments.
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Civil Society-IMF
Dialogue:
IMF and World
Bank meet with union
leaders
IMF and World Bank
management, Executive
Directors and staff met
with leaders of the
international labor
movement on October 6-8
to discuss a range of
issues. The meeting in
Washington, D.C. focused
on efforts to reduce
poverty and achieve the
Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs); there was
also discussion of ways
to enhance employment
opportunities and social
inclusion, and reduce
inequalities. The
gathering was the second
in a biennial series
instituted in 2002 (see
Civil Society Newsletter
January 2003), and
built upon a dialogue
begun more than a decade
ago by the IMF's then
Managing Director Michel
Camdessus.
The labor union
delegation included over
80 representatives of
national and
international labor
federations, which have
nearly 200 million
members. It was headed
by Guy Ryder, General
Secretary of the
International
Confederation of Free
Trade Unions (ICFTU),
and Willy Thys, General
Secretary of the World
Confederation of Labor
(WCL). Representatives
from Global Unions
Federations and the
OECD's Trade Union
Advisory Committee also
attended. Willy Kiekens,
IMF Executive Director
from Belgium, whose
constituency includes
several European
countries, as well as
Turkey and Kazakhstan,
chaired the main session
held at IMF headquarters
on October 7. The
AFL/CIO hosted the
sessions held on October
6, and the World Bank
those on October 8.
In his introductory
remarks for the session
at IMF headquarters, IMF
Managing Director
Rodrigo de Rato welcomed
the dialogue, noting
that in many countries
organized labor is an
important and sometimes
indispensable instrument
for social change. In a
world characterized by
fast-moving
transformation,
countries must adapt, he
said. This often
requires dealing with
such challenges as aging
populations, the need to
modernize labor markets,
and the liberalization
of trading systems. The
participation of civil
society-including labor
unions, which are among
the oldest and most
experienced contributors
to the civic process-in
these economic and
social debates can
strengthen the consensus
on difficult policy
choices; and the IMF has
become increasingly
aware of the importance
of ownership of economic
policies. De Rato also
observed that strong
global expansions such
as the current one
provide a timely
opportunity to undertake
reforms, since changes
in behavior are easier
to bring about during
economic recoveries.
The trade union
delegation said that
despite the IMF's upbeat
assessment of the global
economy, most developing
countries will fail to
achieve the MDGs by a
wide margin. If progress
toward these goals is to
be accelerated, the
international community
must take more ambitious
steps on debt relief and
consider the various
initiatives being
proposed-including some
form of global
taxation-to raise extra
funding. They took note,
however, of de Rato's
observation that the
problem with obtaining
new resources is
political, not
technical.
The labor union
leaders also stressed
that poverty reduction
depends on implementing
the right policies. In
their view, the Bretton
Woods Institutions'
emphasis on pro-growth,
market-oriented economic
liberalization is
inadequate "because
growth is not enough."
They argued that too
little attention is paid
to employment, wages,
and social protection;
growth must be
accompanied by "decent"
job creation and an
increase in social
security and justice.
The union
representatives welcomed
the more systematic
consultations taking
place with local unions
during the IMF's annual
Article IV consultations
with individual
countries, and on other
missions. But they
called for greater
involvement of local
unions in the
development of poverty
reduction strategies in
low-income countries.
IMF representatives
pointed out that the
decision on whom to
consult is made chiefly
by governments.
Many union
representatives said the
Fund's recommendations
to countries on labor
market reform remained a
point of contention.
They expressed concern
that the IMF calls for
greater labor market
flexibility regardless
of a country's
circumstances. This,
they said, tends to
result simply in
deregulation and
increased social
insecurity. The union
leaders urged greater
consultation with unions
to promote a less
disruptive restructuring
of the labor market.
The union leaders
also met with World Bank
president James
Wolfensohn, who
emphasized that labor
issues were central to
development. He said,
for example, that the
demographic challenge
posed by one billion
young people worldwide
entering the work force
in the near future
presents a monumental
opportunity-or risk of
crisis. Creating
productive employment
for this generation was
key not only to growth,
but also to stability
and hope, and thus
ultimately to peace. On
more specific points,
Wolfensohn reported that
recent World Bank
reports promote job
creation above all as
the key to improving the
business climate; and
that core labor
standards (CLS) are now
being promoted by the
Bank, though not yet as
conditions in its
lending. He also
welcomed the report of
the International Labour
Organization's (ILO)
World Commission on the
Social Dimension of
Globalization for its
contribution to global
policy discussions,
noting the Bank's
involvement in the
production of the report
and its continued
commitment to following
up on its
recommendations.
Topics discussed at
sessions with staff
included IFI policies
and programs on trade;
Bank-Fund work in
low-income countries;
labor and employment
issues in PRSPs;
incorporation of core
labor standards into
World Bank lending; the
report on the Social
Dimension of
Globalization; the World
Bank's approach to
social protection; and
trade union
contributions to meeting
the MDGs. Union leaders
also met separately with
IMF and World Bank
Executive Directors.
A more complete
summary record of the
discussion will be
released in the coming
months.
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Letters from the Field:
Saturday with
the survivors
Kenneth Meyers, former
Rwanda Mission Chief
(May 2001 - September
2004)
It was a sunny
Saturday morning when we
left Kigali's asphalt
avenues, and bounced for
a few minutes across
bone-dry, dirt roads to
our destination. Waiting
for us was Jean Marie,
the Secretary of the
Fund for the Needy
Victims of Genocide and
Massacres, with two
young men and a young
woman. Our first stop
was a settlement of 84
"families" (totaling
some 400 young men and
women) whose relatives,
nuclear and extended,
had been destroyed in
Rwanda's 1994 genocide,
as had their hopes for a
normal life. The
families were groupings
of 6 to 8 teenagers,
generally aged 15 to 18.
Some of the families
consisted of relatives
(brothers, sisters and
cousins), while others
had come together with
necessity as the only
guide.
We walked down the
road to one of the
houses. We were greeted
by a young girl sitting
on a step, washing a
blouse in a plastic
bowl. Another housemate
joined us, then a few
more, and we entered
their home. It was
sparse: cinderblock
walls, no lights (not
even a candle), no
curtains, and one
rudimentary chair. The
two bedrooms were
similarly spare-just a
mattress on the floor.
We were told that this
room could sleep five
people, sleeping waist
up across the mattress.
Jean Marie told us that
this family was lucky.
They at least had a
place to call home, a
place where they
belonged. Ten years
after catastrophe struck
Rwanda 40,000 genocide
survivors still are
living day to day with
no permanent dwelling.
We spoke briefly with
the head of the
household that we were
visiting. He had
finished a vocational
training program but had
been unable to find work
in the past year. When
we asked how the family
was able to feed itself,
we were told, "with the
help of God." It seemed
that there was a limit
to their luck.
We stepped outside
and talked with some of
the neighboring families
about their hopes. "We
hope to finish school,
to get professional
training, to enter the
university, if it is
possible," one person
said. We learned that
for those lacking an
education, there is
little hope. Yet,
completing school is no
easy task. Without
electricity or a candle,
the children cannot
study after nightfall.
Since Kigali is at the
Equator, darkness
arrives around 6:30 each
evening. The teenage
family heads do their
best, but life is hard
for everyone, and the
idea of a parent helping
the younger children
with their homework was
far removed from their
experience. There are no
guarantees for those who
do manage to graduate.
We were introduced to a
young woman with a
radiant smile who had
recently received a
degree from a university
in India. She said that
she was worried. She had
no job prospects. Would
she be able to find
work? We all assured her
that she would succeed.
No guarantees.
We said goodbye and
set off to a block of
buildings further down
the road. Here the Fund
for Genocide Survivors
had built simple homes
for widows of the 1994
killings. Some 800
widows and their
children (some natural
and others acquired out
of the moment's
necessity) had been
settled here. The
cinderblock homes, we
were told, were put up
quickly, and with little
supervision. Some of
them appeared to be in
poor condition;
occupants had obviously
made improvements to
others. We walked up to
one of the more
attractive dwellings-the
windows were curtained
and its walls had been
painted-and were greeted
by a mother. Unlike our
previous encounter,
there was no warmth in
this meeting. Civil, but
with a stony stare, she
motioned to the small
refuge that she had
managed to put together.
It seemed clear that the
dark nights of her past
had stolen away more of
her life than she could
bear. A small room had
been turned into simple
store, selling soap and
other sundries. The
store also contained a
water tap, firmly
secured by a lock. In
this parched quarter
piped water is for those
who can pay. An older
widow whom we met on the
road, leaning wearily on
a staff, explained that
she had no family, and
the walk to the public
water source, a
kilometer away, had
become a great strain.
We had entered the
purgatory of the
innocent.
The paralyzing spell
of the moment was broken
by the laughter of
children. Mostly ragged,
they were, nonetheless,
radiant. They spoke the
universal language of
karate motions and happy
cries. A discreet wave
to a beaming young boy
was returned, timidly,
in kind. The IMF mission
team members were an
exciting curiosity. In
this mostly barren
world, novelty is
entertainment.
When we retraced our
steps back to Kigali
later in the day, we
carried a new window
onto a painful piece of
humanity. In parting,
Jean Marie thanked us.
Ten years on, he noted,
the outside world had
come to see the
survivors of the
genocide as just another
wave in the broad sea of
the disadvantaged.
"Please," he asked,
"help us to be
remembered."
Editor's Note:
In the period
following the 1994
genocide, the IMF
actively supported
Rwanda in restoring
macroeconomic stability
and the foundations for
economic growth and
poverty reduction,
including through
financial assistance,
debt relief, and
technical assistance to
reestablish its
macroeconomic
institutions.
Back
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Other recent
meetings between the IMF
and CSOs
- David Goldsbrough,
Acting Director of the
Independent
Evaluation Office
(IEO), and his staff
met CSOs to discuss
the IEO's recent
evaluation of the
Poverty Reduction
Strategy Papers
(PRSPs) and the
Poverty Reduction and
Growth Facility (PRGF)
(see
Civil Society
Newsletter August 2004)
on August 10. The
discussion mostly
focused on the IEO's
finding that "most
PRSPs fall short of
providing a strategic
road map for policy
making, especially in
the area of
macroeconomic and
related structural
policies." Goldsbrough
also participated in a
similar meeting for
European NGOs
organized by
Eurodad in
Brussels on September
21.
- On September 9,
Jean-Pierre Chauffour,
IMF Representative to
the WTO, participated
in the
International Jesuit
Network for
Development (IJND)
Conference: Debt and
Trade: Time to Make
the Connections in
Dublin, Ireland.
- The IMF UN Office
participated in a
September 9 conference
in New York on
"Country Ownership and
Poverty Reduction-The
Role of PRSPs in
Financing for
Development," which
was organized by the
Friedrich Ebert
Foundation in
cooperation with the
UN Financing for
Development Office.
The event was attended
by representatives of
UN member states,
civil society,
academia, and
international
organizations. Tsidi
Tsikata, Senior
Economist at the IEO,
discussed the IEO's
PRSP/PRGF evaluation.
Mark Plant, Assistant
Director Policy
Development and Review
Department, presented
the Fund's
perspective. He also
participated in a
panel entitled
"Millennium
Development Goals,
Health, and
Development Policy"
organized by the World
Health Organization in
the context of the
annual DPI/NGO
conference at the UN.
- On October 13,
Andrew Berg, Division
Chief PDR,
participated in a
panel discussion in
New York on the theme
of remittances
by emigrants as a
source of financing
for development, which
was held under the
auspices of the Second
Committee of the UN
General Assembly in
the context of
Monterrey follow-up.
- Simonetta Nardin,
IMF External Relations
Department,
participated in the
Forum 2000 Bridging
Global Gaps
conference held in
Prague October 15-17.
This year's conference
focused on "The Role
of the Civil Society
in a Globalized
World."
- On October 19, Dan
Citrin, Deputy
Director of the IMF's
Asia & Pacific
Department met with
Oxfam Great
Britain's Regional
Directors for South
Asia and East Asia at
IMF headquarters in
Washington.
Back
to Table of Contents
Inside the IMF
- IMF Managing
Director Rodrigo de
Rato appointed Michael
Kuhn as Director of
the Finance Department
to succeed Eduard
Brau, who has retired
after 35 years of
service with the IMF.
Kuhn, 54, a national
of Germany, has been
Deputy Director of the
Finance Department
(formerly Treasurer's
Department) since
1999. He joined the
Fund in 1983 and has
held senior positions
in area and functional
departments. Kuhn
holds degrees in
economics from Golden
Gate and Princeton
Universities
- IMF staff has
prepared a new
factsheet on "The IMF
and Civil Society
Organizations" (http://www.imf.org/civilsociety).
It serves as a
starting point for a
number of web pages
that are of interest
to CSOs and
researchers working on
CSO relations with the
IMF.
Back
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Selected speeches
-
Remarks at a Meeting
with African Governors
of the IMF, by
Rodrigo de Rato,
Managing Director,
Washington, D.C.,
October 1, 2004
-
Remarks at the Summit
of World Leaders for
Action Against Hunger
and Poverty by
Rodrigo de Rato,
Managing Director, New
York, September 20,
2004
-
The IMF at 60:
Evolving Role, Current
Challenges,
remarks by Rodrigo de
Rato, Managing
Director, at the
Breakfast Meeting with
the Council on Foreign
Relations, New York,
September 20, 2004
-
A Partnership for
Growth and Poverty
Reduction in Africa,
remarks by Rodrigo de
Rato, Managing
Director, at the
Extraordinary Summit
of the African Union,
Ouagadougou, September
8, 2004
Back
to Table of Contents
Selected
publications
-
Debt Sustainability in
Low-Income Countries:
Further Considerations
on an Operational
Framework and Policy
Implications,
prepared by the Staffs
of the IMF and World
Bank
-
Operational Framework
for Debt
Sustainability in
Low-Income Countries:
Implications for Fund
Program Design,
prepared by the Policy
Development and Review
Department in
consultation with the
other departments
-
Sources of Growth in
Sub-Saharan Africa,
by Bernardin A.
Akitoby, Dhaneshwar
Ghura, Amor Tahari,
and Emmanuel Brou Aka,
African Department
-
Development Committee
Communiqué
-
Communiqué of the
International Monetary
and Financial
Committee of the Board
of Governors of the
International Monetary
Fund
-
Report of the Managing
Director to the
International Monetary
and Financial
Committee on the IMF's
Policy Agenda
-
Poverty Reduction
Strategy
Papers-Progress in
Implementation,
prepared by the Staffs
of the IMF and the
World Bank
-
Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC)
Initiative-Status of
Implementation,
prepared by the Staffs
of the IMF and the
World Bank
-
The Role of the Fund
in Low-Income Member
Countries,
prepared by the Staff
of the Policy
Development and Review
Department
-
Report of the
Executive Board to the
International Monetary
and Financial
Committee (IMFC) on
Quotas, Voice, and
Representation,
prepared by the
Finance and
Secretary's
Departments
-
Microfinance in
Africa: Experience and
Lessons from Selected
African Countries,
by Anupam Basu,
Rodolphe Blavy, and
Murat Yulek, African
Department, Working
Paper No. 04/174
-
External Grants and
IMF Policies,
Issues Brief
-
Financing Uganda's
Poverty Reduction
Strategy: Is Aid
Causing More Pain Than
Gain? By Mwanza
Nkusu, African
Department, Working
Paper No. 04/170
-
Grants Versus Loans,
by Tito Cordella and
Hulya Ulku, Research
Department, Working
Paper No. 04/161
-
External Debt
Sustainability in HIPC
Completion Point
Countries, by Yan
Sun, Finance
Department, Working
Paper No. 04/160
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