The countdown to the 2006 IMF-World
Bank Annual Meetings in Singapore has started, and
IMF staff are preparing policy papers and proposals
to be discussed by the Fund's International Monetary
and Financial Committee (IMFC) and the joint World
Bank and IMF Development Committee. On the agenda
are a number of proposals related to the IMF's
Medium-Term Strategy. One of these—and of great
interest to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)—is
the reform of IMF governance. In a July 31 keynote
speech at the Washington, DC-based Center for Global
Development, IMF Managing Director de Rato also laid
out the strategy for the IMF's role in low-income
countries, an article
summarizes the speech and subsequent discussion. He
also elaborated upon the issue of governance in a
August 3 speech in Tokyo.
The Annual Meetings will be
held on September 19-20 in the Suntec Singapore
International Convention and Exhibition Centre, to
which all accredited participants have access. Fund
and Bank staff, along with CSOs, are organizing a
civil society forum. More information can be found
at
http://www.worldbank.org/civilsociety. See also
the related information in the
Bulletin Board.
As reported in the February
Civil Society Newsletter, the IMF delivered on its
part of the
Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) in
January; 14 of the 20 countries that received MDRI
debt relief from IMF, are in Africa. We asked our
country teams in the African Department (AFR) to
give us an update on how this money is being used.
In an interview, AFR Director
Abdoulaye Bio-Tchané talks about how the department
contributes to the IMF's work in low-income
countries.
In a July 31
speech at the Center for Global Development
(CGD) in Washington, DC, IMF Managing Director
Rodrigo de Rato reaffirmed the Fund's commitment to
low-income countries. A year ago at the G-8
Gleneagles Summit, the international community
pledged to support debt reduction and help
low-income countries make progress toward the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). But much more
remains to be done, de Rato said in his speech. The
IMF's fundamental task is to promote macroeconomic
stability, which is a prerequisite for sustainable
growth. Most elements of the Fund's recently
unveiled
Medium-Term Strategy—such as improving
surveillance, enhancing crisis prevention, and
correcting global imbalances—will benefit low-income
countries just as they benefit developed and
emerging market countries. But the Fund has also
undertaken measures that specifically target
low-income countries.
The
Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) was a
key step, de Rato said, with the Fund leading
international financial institutions in January by
moving to provide 100 percent debt relief on debt
owed by 19 poor countries. But he also sounded a
cautionary note: the challenge now is to avoid
another debt crisis. Countries that have benefited
from the MDRI must now guard against assuming
unsustainable debt now that their debt has been
forgiven. Grants and highly concessional loans are
also a vital part of the equation. But de Rato
stressed that donors need to provide early and
predictable commitments of support to allow
low-income countries to plan successfully. He also
emphasized that aid must be used effectively. "The
Fund can help by ensuring that macroeconomic
frameworks are sound and that adequate public
expenditure . . . systems are put in place, so that
scaled-up resource flows reach their targets," he
said.
The Fund is committed to
making sure that low-income countries have the
fiscal space they need to expand social programs, de
Rato continued, especially in health and education.
The Fund does not advocate cutting back on spending
in these areas, even in times of fiscal restraint.
Indeed, he observed, many Fund-supported programs
include floors on poverty-related spending.
The Fund also has a role in
other policy areas critical to economic growth, such
as promoting trade reform and supporting sound,
well-functioning financial systems. In all these
tasks, de Rato stressed, the Fund must cooperate
with the World Bank, the donor community, and—most
importantly—its member countries.
In the debate that followed,
CGD senior fellow Liliana Rojas-Suarez elicited the
views of the three panelists. Kemal Dervis,
Administrator of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) welcomed de Rato's words on
governance, voice, and greater weight for poor
countries in the IMF. But he thought that the IMF
seemed less concerned with exchange rate
appreciation in middle-income countries than in
low-income countries, calling it a policy of "benign
neglect" with regard to middle income countries.
Ricardo Hausmann, Director of Harvard University's
Center for International Development, noted that the
Fund's strategy for low-income countries focused too
much on poverty reduction and the MDGs and not
enough on economic growth—what is needed is a growth
strategy for low-income countries, in his view.
Dennis de Tray, CGD's Vice President, and a former
IMF and World Bank staff member, observed that the
IMF has been very successful in crisis management
and promoting macroeconomic stability. But he
questioned whether the Fund could become open to
learning and flexible enough at the country level to
contribute significantly to long-term development.
Such changes in the IMF's culture would take a long
time, he said.
Summarizing the discussion,
Rojas-Suarez noted that all seemed to agree that the
IMF has a key role to play in low-income countries,
but there were questions about whether the
institution can adapt to the challenges of
development.
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An interview with Abdoulaye
Bio-Tchané on prospects for Africa and the Fund's
work in low-income countries
Abdoulaye Bio-Tchané has
been Director of the IMF's African Department (AFR)
since March 2002. He talks about his experience
leading the African Department, the prospects for
Africa, the Fund's evolving role in low-income
countries, and whether there is any truth to
criticisms that the IMF restricts fiscal space for
critical spending on social sectors.
Q: Mr. Bio-Tchané, you
have now been at the Fund for over four years. What
have been some highlights of your experience as
Director of AFR?
A: I have
very much enjoyed these last four years, though they
have been hectic and the pace has only continued to
accelerate. The many country programs as well as
various new initiatives—including the
Medium-Term Strategy (MTS)—keep us very busy.
Substantively, the implementation of the
Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) this
past year has certainly been a highlight. It has
complemented our continuing efforts to move more
countries to the
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative
completion and decision points. I am also pleased to
be able to say that we have built better relations
with our member countries.
The reorganization of the
African Department in 2004 was also a highlight. The
objective was to make AFR more responsive to our
members, more effective in its work, and more
proactive on issues related to sub-Saharan Africa. I
believe we have achieved that objective—not just
because we have reorganized but also because we
received significant additional resources to help us
tackle the additional work we have had to take on.
Q: The
economic outlook for sub-Saharan Africa has been
encouraging lately, with growth rates in the past
two or three years above 5 percent. Yet the impact
on poverty is still not clear. The
Global Monitoring Report suggests that growth
rates must be still higher if African countries are
to reach the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). What do you
think is needed for Africa to make the leap from
growth to poverty reduction? Do the higher growth
rates in recent years indicate that the continent is
starting to turn the corner?
A: I think
it's fair to say that the continent may be starting
to turn the corner. The growth rate for sub-Saharan
Africa last year was the highest in the last 10
years; inflation in 2004 and into 2005 was the
lowest in 25 years; fiscal deficits are coming down;
and in general countries have more control of their
current account deficits. These solid macro results
are a good sign for the continent.
But these encouraging trends
have only prevailed for two or three years—clearly
not enough to make an impact on poverty. For that,
the key is to help countries not only achieve higher
growth rates but also manage to sustain their
growth. That is the agenda that this department,
working with other Fund departments, must promote.
In so doing, we will need to be focused in our
advice, particularly in helping countries to
identify growth-critical sectors. For many
countries, the priorities will be trade and
financial sector reform, strengthening public
expenditure monitoring systems, and creating an
encouraging environment for the private sector. But
because that is not necessarily true of all
countries, we must be flexible and tailor our advice
to the specific circumstances of each country.
Q: The MTS outlines a
"more focused" role for the Fund in low-income
countries. Some have interpreted this as a signal
that the institution is trying to scale down its
involvement through streamlining and leaving some
work that is not part of the core mandate to other
institutions. Do you think this is a fair
characterization? Where is the Fund going on
low-income country issues?
A: We have
achieved a lot in the past year, and the MTS is a
big step forward. But perhaps we haven't explained
enough what the MTS envisages, and what the Fund has
done in the last few years for low-income countries.
In fact, we have received a clear mandate, from both
the Board and the International Monetary and
Financial Committee (IMFC), to do more—not less—to
help low-income countries achieve the MDGs. Rather
than scaling down, we have actually expanded our
work in low-income countries. The MTS does call on
staff to work more closely with other partners in
areas that are not clearly in our domain, but it
does not permit us to do less. It is a direction to
us to be more focused and results-oriented in our
areas of expertise.
In the last year we have added
to our toolkit new instruments—the
Policy Support Instrument and the
Exogenous Shocks Facility—to address issues our
low-income members are facing. We have also expanded
our efforts in capacity-building; for instance, we
are opening a third
Africa Regional Technical Center (AFRITAC) in
Libreville, Gabon. The IMF was also the first
institution to deliver debt relief under the MDRI
(and note that most of that debt relief went to
sub-Saharan Africa).
Q: Last year, the
outcome of the G-8 summit at Gleneagles prompted a
great deal of attention to debt relief, which
resulted in the MDRI. This year the headlines seem
to have died down somewhat. What do you hope will
come out of the Annual Meetings in Singapore with
regard to low-income country issues?
A: I don't
know exactly what will come out of the Annual
Meetings, but I know what we'll be working on in the
run-up to Singapore. Our continuous agenda is to
help countries accelerate growth, reach the HIPC
decision and completion points, and qualify for the
MDRI. We have delivered on our share of the MDRI. We
will continue working on implementing the MTS. The
G-8 and other OECD countries have pledged resources;
now it is time to see how much will be delivered.
So we are moving on some
fronts, including the scaling-up exercise (see
related story in the
Civil Society Newsletter February 2006 on the
macroeconomics of managing increased aid flows to
developing countries), but we need to make better
progress on others, such as doing more to help
countries meet the MDGs. There are perhaps fewer
headlines on Africa because last year was about
commitment, and this year is about implementation of
those commitments. But I do not think there is less
attention. Indeed, in late June, Prime Minister
Blair unveiled a new proposal for a committee to
monitor the commitments of the G-8.
Q: The issue of quotas
is at the top of the agenda. What are you hearing
about this from African Governors?
A: The
Managing Director met with
African Governors in Madrid at the end of June
to discuss this issue. Quotas have moved to the top
of the Fund agenda since the last meeting of the
IMFC, which gave the MD a mandate to take to
Singapore a proposal to rebalance the quotas. As the
Ministers stated, this has been a long-standing
issue for Africa, which for the past 20 years has
expressed concerns about its voice and
representation in the institution, including at the
Board and on the staff. The African ministers made
it quite clear that they would not like to finish
this exercise with even lower quotas and voice than
currently.
Q: A criticism of the
Fund in Africa is the issue of fiscal space and
whether the Fund constrains spending on critical
sectors like health and education. How do you
respond to that?
A: It is
clearly not the case that we restrict spending in
health, education, and other critical sectors. We
have to say that as loudly and clearly—and as
often—as possible. We live in the real world where
there are always constraints, but within those
constraints, we have always discussed with the
authorities how to protect spending in vulnerable
sectors. Indeed, in most of our programs, we have
managed to provide space for increased spending in
those sectors.
It is simply not true that we
prevent countries from accepting grant resources
from foreign donors for spending in such areas as
HIV/AIDS for fear that this will lead to Dutch
disease. It is important to manage the impact of
those resources—and that is what we help countries
do—but we do not prevent them from taking them in
the first place. The claim that we constrain fiscal
space in critical sectors is not a fair criticism of
our work.
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In January, the IMF delivered
on its part of the
Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) (see
Civil Society Newsletter February 2006). We
report below on how this money is used in each
country:
Benin: The resources
freed up by the MDRI will be used to step up
priority poverty-reducing programs under the new
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)
2006-2009, which focuses on education, health,
infrastructure, and agriculture. Although the timing
and actual projects to be financed are being
specified, it is expected that some spending will
begin immediately. In particular, the equivalent of
the savings on debt service that would have been due
in 2006 (US$7.7 million) will be used to increase
spending in health and education, in the cotton
sector, as well as for funding small-holder projects
in agriculture. The total relief from the Fund alone
amounts to $56 million, equivalent to 1.3 percent of
2005 GDP.
Burkina Faso: The
cancellation of the outstanding debt stock owed to
the Fund will free up approximately US$83 million,
equivalent to about 1.4 percent of GDP. The
resulting debt service savings in 2006 are estimated
at US$10.6 million, or 0.2% of GDP. The Fund program
with Burkina Faso allows for additional spending on
priority social programs or priority infrastructure
if the country receives unexpected
balance-of-payments support, including MDRI relief,
up to an amount of US$45 million. MDRI debt relief
is expected to supplement priority social programs,
including education, health, and rural
infrastructure. The additional expenditures will be
included in the revised budget, and will be subject
to the established reporting, audit, and oversight
requirements.
Cameroon: The IMF
delivered debt relief totaling US$255 million (1.4
percent of GDP) to Cameroon in April 2006. The IMF
program with Cameroon allows the use of MDRI
resources on programs that are consistent with the
priorities underlying the poverty-reduction
strategy, including in infrastructure, health,
education, agriculture, and institution building.
Spending from MDRI resources will be subject to
established reporting and oversight requirements.
Ethiopia: Ethiopia's
total MDRI relief from the IMF amounts to US$114
million. The Ethiopian authorities have included
Birr 648 million (US$74 million, equivalent to
0.5 percent of GDP) freed up by the MDRI debt relief
as revenues in the 2006/07 budget. Budgeted
poverty-reducing spending, as defined by the
government's poverty reduction strategy, is
projected to increase by Birr 603 million (US$69
million). Ethiopia does not currently have an
IMF-supported program.
Ghana: The Ghanaian
authorities have received US$381 million freed under
MDRI, which will go toward meeting the resource
requirements for the U.N. Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). The relief has made Ghana's external
debt much more sustainable. The government intends
to use the resources to enhance the realization of
its development objectives—primarily through
increasing the current level of public investment in
basic infrastructure and providing for key poverty
sectors. These include improvement in energy and
water; the rehabilitation of essential major
highways and feeder roads in the main agricultural
areas; education; health; and development of
information and communication technology. The
government will be using the equivalent of US$200
million from the IMF relief in 2006—with the
remainder in 2007 and 2008—within its updated Growth
Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II). The relief
from the World Bank's International Development
Association (IDA) and the African Development Fund
(AfDF) will be used for social spending (with an
emphasis on education and health).
Madagascar: The
Malagasy authorities have committed to allocate
resources freed up by debt relief to priority
spending ministries in line with the country's
Poverty Reduction Strategy. The total amount of debt
relief to be provided under the MDRI by the IMF, the
IDA, and the AfDF will amount to approximately
US$2.3 billion (42 percent of GDP), with the ratio
of the net present value of debt to exports expected
to decline to about 9 percent from about 31 percent
in 2005. The IMF debt relief amounts to US$186
million, the IDA debt relief to US$1.78 billion, and
the AfDF debt relief to US$327 million. Together,
the MDRI relief will free about US$36 million for
additional priority spending in 2006, and about
US$70 million each year during the next twenty
years. This additional poverty reducing expenditure
will be included in a supplementary budget in 2006
and in the annual budget laws in subsequent years.
Mali: The Malian
authorities have received debt relief totaling $108
million from the IMF. Total relief, including the
expected contributions from the IDA and AfDF, is
projected to amount to US$2 billion, equivalent to
35 percent of 2006 GDP. The relief will reduce
Mali's external debt to levels well below
sustainable debt thresholds over the medium term.
The government intends to use the resources released
to accelerate progress towards achieving the
MDGs—primarily through raising public investment in
basic infrastructure and providing for higher
spending in health and education. For 2006, the
authorities envisage an amendment to the budget for
additional spending of US$24 million targeted at
water supply and road improvements.
Mozambique: As a result
of the MDRI, Mozambique's external public debt stock
will fall significantly by end-2006, by
US$1.6 billion in nominal terms (of which US$154
million will come from the IMF), and from 25 to 12
percent of GDP in NPV terms. The Mozambican
authorities have decided to place the IMF MDRI funds
in a special account at the Bank of Mozambique to be
used by the government to finance "priority"
pro-poor spending. It is envisaged that Mozambique
will make use of the special MDRI account over a
period of about 4 years, with all outlays subject to
regular budgetary rules and procedures ensuring full
transparency and accountability. The fiscal
framework for 2006 includes additional pro-poor
"priority" expenditure identified in the budget
financed by MDRI resources from the Fund. The
authorities' Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) for
2007-09 has also been revised to phase in additional
"priority" spending based on the profile of MDRI
debt service relief from the Fund, AfDF, and IDA
(estimated at around 0.5 percent of GDP per annum
until 2015) in agreement with all stakeholders. A
strengthening of public expenditure management
systems should ensure a more effective use and
monitoring of the MDRI resources.
Niger: Niger has
decided to set aside the resources freed by MDRI
from the Fund (US$86 million) for priority
development programs. Accordingly, in 2006, the US$
4.5 million will be used to expand priority programs
in education, health, and rural sector development.
Beyond 2006, the authorities are preparing
Medium-Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEFs) for these
development programs. The MTEFs are expected to be
completed by late 2006 and will be incorporated into
Niger's budgets for 2007 and beyond.
Rwanda: MDRI relief (of
which the Fund's relief amounts to about 3.3 percent
of GDP or US$78 million) is being gradually
incorporated into the Fund program. Food imports and
spending for the Lake Kivu methane gas project (to
generate electricity) broadly correspond to the
resources freed-up by the MDRI relief in 2006 (0.6
percent of GDP). Depending on absorptive constraints
and the domestic demand impact of fiscal policies,
further priority spending could be accommodated in
the context of the first
Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF)
review. Over the next three years, annual MDRI flow
relief amounts to about 0.5 percent of GDP.
Senegal: The Senegalese
authorities intend to use the additional resources
freed by MDRI from the Fund (US$140 million, or 1.7
percent of GDP) for priority needs in the social
services sector. These needs have been identified in
the new Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for
2006-10, which was recently validated by the
authorities. A supplementary budget will be
presented to Parliament soon to authorize additional
allocations for specific projects in these sectors
during 2006. MDRI savings from the Fund debt relief
will amount to US$38 million in 2006 (0.5 percent of
GDP).
Tanzania: The Tanzanian
authorities have decided to pass on the resources
(about US$338 million) freed up by MDRI relief from
the Fund to finance the foreign exchange needs of
high priority pro-poor social outlays and
growth-critical projects, thus avoiding any impact
on domestic liquidity. These outlays will focus
primarily on addressing the aftermath of a prolonged
drought and on critical energy needs. Funds will be
used to help pay for food imports to provide free or
heavily subsidized food to some 3.7 million
food-insecure citizens. It will also be used for the
purchase or lease of new power generation capacity,
thus alleviating power rationing, which has affected
mostly households and small businesses, and has
shifted the government's energy policy focus away
from rural electrification towards crisis
management. All outlays will be subject to regular
procurement and financial management laws and
regulations.
Uganda: Uganda has
received debt relief from the IMF in the amount of
US$126 million. New MDRI-related spending will be
governed by poverty objectives (as outlined in
Uganda's Poverty Eradication Action Plan) and
macroeconomic stability. In this light, and given
Uganda's acute electricity shortage, the government
is considering using the resources to help meet
Uganda's urgent electricity needs.
Zambia: The resources
freed up by the MDRI will be used to step up
priority poverty reducing programs under the
National Development Plan (NDP) 2006-2010. Given the
NDP's focus on agriculture and infrastructure, the
MDRI savings are likely to be allocated to these
areas, but for the most part the timing and actual
projects to be financed have yet to be specified.
That said, some spending will begin immediately: in
2006 the equivalent of the savings on debt service
that would have been due (US$18 million) will be
used to increase spending on agricultural projects
devoted to small-holder irrigation and livestock
disease control. The total relief from the Fund
alone amounts to US$581 million, equivalent to 8
percent of 2005 GDP.
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PRSP process
starts to take hold in Moldova
Johan Mathisen, IMF Resident Representative,
Chisinau, Moldova
In March 2006, the Moldovan
authorities reported on the implementation of the
first Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy
Paper (EGPRSP) at a national forum. The forum was
seen as an opportunity to involve all stakeholders
in the ongoing dialogue and to discuss not only its
success stories, but also the shortcomings and
problem areas. The EGPRSP for 2004-2006 had been
approved by the Parliament in December 2004, and was
developed through an open participatory process in
an attempt to create and extend a permanent dialogue
involving public institutions, civil society, and
other development partners.
Shortly after the forum, the
Academy of Science of Moldova followed up with a
roundtable on accelerating high-quality economic
growth. It was attended by senior officials,
researchers, and representatives of think tanks and
civil society organizations (CSOs). The roundtable
generated a list of proposed actions to strengthen
cooperation between the authorities, academia, and
CSOs—such as holding regular meetings on specific
issues, organizing briefings by international
organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank,
and developing efficient mechanisms for interaction
between researchers and the authorities. The goal is
to optimize the policy dialogue during the
implementation of key strategies such as the EGPRSP
and the Moldova-EU Action Plan.
I was actively involved in
these events and volunteered to contribute to the
developing policy dialogue. Hence, an IMF mission
headed by Thomas Richardson took part in a July 2006
roundtable at the Institute of Economy, Finance, and
Statistics. The roundtable, attended by prominent
scholars and the staff of the Institute, focused on
the new IMF-supported program for Moldova and
resulted in a lively discussion of practical and
theoretical issues. Participants expressed the hope
that such meetings will take place every time IMF
missions come to Moldova. They agreed to continue
the exchanges on narrower topics among academia,
local think tanks, CSOs, journalists, and the donor
community. This would be part of the Poverty
Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) consultative
process aimed at improving the ability of the
Government and civil society to respond adequately
to the challenges of an open market and global
competitiveness.
Background: After a 4-year
interim, on May 5, 2006, the Executive Board of the
International Monetary Fund approved a three-year
Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) program
in support of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
(PRSP) of the Government of Moldova. The loan totals
approximately US$117 million on concessional terms
(at an interest rate of 0.5 percent, and with a
maturity of 10 years, after 5½ years of grace) and
is to disbursed in seven equal tranches over
2006-2009. The first tranche of about US$17 million
was disbursed to the National Bank of Moldova
immediately after the PRGF approval. A second
tranche is expected to be disbursed later this year
as the Government continues to implement reforms
committed in the EGPRSP and supported by the PRGF.
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Haiti has been confronting
several difficult challenges in recent years:
political and economic instability, low economic
growth, extremes of income inequality, and
widespread poverty. So the election of President
René Préval and a new Parliament this year, followed
by the formation of a coalition government, present
a historic opportunity to reverse the country's long
period of civil conflict and economic decline.
President Préval is confident that a wider social
consensus now exists for overdue economic reforms,
including promoting better governance and
consolidating macroeconomic stability.
The new government has asked
to start discussions on a three-year Fund-supported
program under the Poverty Reduction and Growth
Facility (PRGF) that could lead to a sharp decline
in Haiti's external debt. It is expected that under
this program, Haiti will benefit from a substantial
reduction in its external debt initially under the
enhanced Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries
Initiative (HIPC) and in the coming years under the
Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). In this
context, Western Hemisphere Department Director
Anoop Singh visited Haiti in June 2006 to start
these discussions. In addition to meeting with
government officials, he also met with a wide range
of civil society representatives to discuss the
challenges facing Haiti. During the discussion,
participants stressed that political and economic
decentralization is key to reducing poverty in
Haiti. There are presently virtually no functioning
sub-national institutions.
The Fund Haiti mission and I
have intensified our outreach activities to inform
the public about the Fund and its activities and
clarify various aspects of a PRGF program. Most
recently, we gave interviews to journalists of local
and international newspapers and presentations to
local NGOs—such as "Civil Society Initiative," a
broad group of civil society organizations,
including trade unions—donors, and university
students.
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- On May 10, John Shields of
the IMF African Department (AFR) and Carlos Leite
of the Policy Development and Review Department
(PDR) met with Paul Miller and Soren Jensen of
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to discuss revenue
transparency issues in Angola's extractive
industry. Jensen gave an overview of CRS's support
for Angola's Economic Justice Program, which
promotes fiscal transparency by strengthening the
capacity of the Catholic Church and other CSOs.
Shields noted that most of the critical
transparency problems have been resolved, but that
the transparency of the state-owned oil company
remains problematic.
- Simonetta Nardin of the
External Relations Department (EXR) participated
in the panel discussion "Human Rights, Development
and Social Responsibility" at the Academy of Human
Rights at American University's College of Law in
Washington, D.C., on May 31. Panelists included
Philip Alston of New York University, Andy Kooper
of the Ashoka Foundation, and moderator Daniel
Bradlow of American University. The discussion
focused on social and corporate responsibility of
institutions in fostering human rights.
- On June 5, John
Christensen, Raymond Baker, Bill Fant, and David
Spencer of the Tax Justice Network (TJN) met with
Michael Keen and Isaias Coelho of the Fiscal
Affairs Department (FAD) to discuss the problem of
capital flight in developing countries. TJN
suggested that IMF Reports on Standards and Codes
(ROSCs) should consider whether onshore and
offshore financial centers are taking adequate
action to stop capital flight.
- Mike Davis of Global
Witness (GW) met with David Coe and Matt Davies of
the Asia and Pacific Department (APD) and FAD's
Jon Strand and Dawn Rehm on June 20 to discuss
corruption in the Cambodian extractive sectors.
Davis emphasized GW's view of the need for further
action against corruption in the logging and oil
sectors. Rehm welcomed GW's efforts and suggested
that the groups also urge other donors to further
the transparency campaign as part of the effort to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in
Cambodia.
- On July 11, international
representatives from RESULTS Educational Fund met
with Andy Berg of PDR and Peter Heller and Marijn
Verhoeven of FAD, to discuss how aid flows can
best be absorbed while allowing for flexibility in
the health and education spending. RESULTS
recognized that the priorities of macroeconomic
stability cannot be ignored, but the delegation
suggested that Fund policy advice should be more
flexible for countries with high aid inflows. In
response, staff noted that Fund advice is
different across countries and encouraged CSOs to
consult with the Fund on policy advice in given
countries to assess if that advice has restricted
spending flexibility for public services.
- At a July 13 meeting in
London, IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato
discussed the IMF's Medium-Term Strategy with
representatives from academia, civil society, the
financial sector, and the press. CSOs were
represented by ActionAid International, the
Bretton Woods Project, Oxfam Great Britain, and
World Vision.
- On July 21, members of the
Publish What You Pay Coalition (PWYP) met with
PDR's Scott Brown and Anton Op de Beke and FAD's
Philip Daniel and Dawn Rehm, to discuss the Fund's
Guide on Resource Transparency. PWYP welcomed the
Guide as a vital tool to illustrate the need for
greater transparency in extractive industries.
Welcoming the feedback, Op de Beke stressed that
the Guide should not be substituted for the
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
(EITI), but be used as a complementary tool to
garner political support for fiscal governance and
revenue resource transparency.
- Oxfam Great Britain's Hetty
Kovach met with AFR's George Anayiotos and
Marshall Mills on July 26, to discuss the IMF's
program conditionality in Mali and the scheduled
privatization of the state-owned cotton company.
Kovach was most concerned the privatization would
reduce public services provided by the cotton
industry such as training, farming credits, and
health services. IMF staff recognized her concerns
and noted that these issues will be explored in an
upcoming World Bank Poverty and Social Impact
Analysis (PSIA).
- On July 28, members of the
New Rules Network for Global Finance Coalition met
with EXR Director Masood Ahmed. The discussion
served was an opportunity for New Rules to brief
EXR on their current initiatives in the areas of
PSIA, parliamentary oversight, and IMF Executive
Board accountability. Ahmed also provided an
update on the proposals for the reform of IMF
governance under the Managing Director's
Medium-Term Strategy.
- AFR's Roger Nord
participated in a panel discussion on
"Humanitarian Issues: Globalization" at the annual
Global Young Leaders Conference in Washington,
D.C. on July 28. Other panelists included Sameer
Dossani of 50 Years is Enough, Charles Woolery of
the United Nations Association-Council of
Organizations and moderator Michael Doyle of the
McClatchy Newspaper. Many questions from the
participants revolved around trade. Nord shared
the concern expressed by many about the recent
suspension of discussions under the Doha Round,
noting that for low-income countries, in
particular, economic growth and poverty reduction
requires more trade integration, not less.
- On August 9, EXR Director
Masood Ahmed met with London-based CSOs at the
offices of Save the Children UK in London to
discuss the Fund's role in low-income countries
and other issues. Participants included
representatives from the Bretton Woods Project,
Christian Aid, Jubilee Research, Oxfam GB, Save
the Children UK, and WaterAid.
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- The Annual Meetings of the
Governors of the IMF and the World Bank will be
held in Singapore on September 19-20, 2006, with a
number of other official meetings taking place in
the preceding days. CSO accreditation closed on
August 4. Accredited CSOs will be able to use a
designated area at the meeting site. They will
have access to the press as well as Bank/IMF and
government officials attending the meetings.
Accredited CSOs will also have access to events
such as the Civil Society Forum, Program of
Seminars sessions, and some official Annual
Meetings sessions. The Civil Society Forum will
take place on September 14-20 and bring together
Bank and Fund staff, CSO representatives,
government officials, and others to discuss
important issues. All information for CSOs is
posted on the
Annual Meetings website and on
http://www.worldbank.org/civilsociety. Please
check this website regularly for updated
information.
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- On March 29, 2006, the IMF
and the World Bank
announced the creation of a six-member
External Review Committee (ERC) to examine the
areas of Bank-Fund collaboration and to propose
improvements. The committee has decided to invite
views from the public and has asked the World Bank
and the IMF to establish an electronic mailbox for
the public to offer comments until
September 15, 2006 at
erc@imf.org. The Committee would especially
welcome perspectives on possible improvements on
the division of labor and collaboration between
the IMF and the World Bank.
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- In May, IMF Managing
Director de Rato
proposed the appointment of John Lipsky as
First Deputy Managing Director to succeed Anne O.
Krueger, who
announced in April that she would retire on
August 31. Lipsky, a U.S. national, was Vice
Chairman of JP Morgan Investment Bank; he
previously served as chief economist at JP Morgan,
Chase Manhattan Bank, and Salomon Brothers
European Research Group. He also worked at the IMF
for ten years on a number of countries and served
as a Resident Representative in Chile. Lipsky
holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in economics from Stanford
University and a Bachelors degree in economics
from Wesleyan University.
- IMF Managing Director
Rodrigo de Rato
named Jaime Caruana as the head of the
recently merged International Capital Markets
Department (ICM) and Monetary and Financial
Systems Department (MFD). Caruana, a Spanish
national, was Governor of Banco de España, Spain's
central bank. He succeeds
Gerd Häusler, who headed ICM, and Stefan
Ingves, who headed MFD until his appointment as
Governor of Sweden's central bank. Caruana, has
also served on the Governing Council of the
European Central Bank, was the Chairman of the
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, and, in
that capacity, a member of the Financial Stability
Forum. He previously served as Director of the
Spanish Treasury and headed investment services
and fund management companies.
- On July 26, the Managing
Director
announced his intention to appoint Jonathan
Palmer as the new Chief Information Officer (CIO)
of the IMF and Associate Director of the
Technology and General Services Department (TGS).
Palmer is CIO and Deputy Statistician at the
Australian Bureau of Statistics. The new CIO
position was created after the management
structure of TGS was
reorganized. Palmer is expected to assume the
position in late September and has 15 years of
experience managing major information technology
initiatives.
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-
Progress in Implementing the Fund's Medium-Term
Strategy, by Rodrigo de Rato, Managing
Director, at the Foreign Correspondents' Club,
Tokyo, Japan, August 3, 2006.
-
Renewing the IMF's Commitment to Low-Income
Countries, by Rodrigo de Rato, Managing
Director, at the Center for Global Development,
July 31, 2006.
-
Adapting to New Global Realities, by Takatoshi
Kato, Deputy Managing Director, Seminar at the
Asian Institute of Management, July 13, 2006.
-
Crisis Prevention and the IMF, by Takatoshi
Kato, Deputy Managing Director, at the
IMF-Singapore High Level Seminar, Singapore, July
10, 2006.
-
Reshaping the IMF's Role in the 21st Century,
by Agustín Carstens, Deputy Managing Director, at
the Fifth Annual Regional Conference on Central
America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic,
June 26, 2006.
-
Adapting to the Changing Global Economy: The IMF's
Medium-Term Strategy, by Rodrigo de Rato,
Managing Director, at a Working Breakfast in
Wellington, New Zealand, June 16, 2006.
-
Meeting the Challenges of 21st Century
Globalization: The IMF's Medium-Term Strategy,
by Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director, at the
National Museum of Australia, June 14, 2006.
-
The Paris Club, the IMF and Debt Sustainability,
by Agustín Carstens, Deputy Managing Director at
Dinner Marking the 50th Anniversary of
the Paris Club, June 14, 2006.
-
Globalization, Flexibility and Interdependence:
Equipping Economies for the 21st Century, by
Anne O. Krueger, First Deputy Managing Director,
at the 10th St. Petersburg
International Economic Forum, June 13, 2006.
-
The Changing Role of the IMF in Asia and the
Global Economy, by Rodrigo de Rato, Managing
Director, at the National Press Club, Canberra,
Australia, June 13, 2006.
-
Stability, Growth, and Prosperity: The Global
Economy and the IMF, by Anne O. Krueger, First
Deputy Managing Director, at Conference De
Montreal, Canada, June 7, 2006.
-
The IMF in Asia and the World Economy, by
Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director, at the
Economic Society of Singapore, May 24, 2006.
-
Challenges and Opportunities for the IMF, by
Agustín Carstens, Deputy Managing Director, at
the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Bretton Woods
Committee, May 23, 2006.
-
A Strengthened Surveillance Role for the IMF,
by Agustín Carstens, Deputy Managing Director, at
the 55th Plenary Meeting of the Group of Thirty,
Mexico City, May 12, 2006.
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-
Article VIII Acceptance by IMF Members—Recent
Trends and Implications for the Fund by the
Monetary and Financial Systems and the Legal
Department.
-
Report on Access to Fund Resources During 2005,
by the Policy Development and Review and Finance
Departments.
-
Standards and Codes—Implementing the Fund's
Medium-Term Strategy and the Recommendations of
the 2005 Review of the Initiative, by the
Policy Development and Review Department.
-
Evaluation of the IMF's Role in the Determination
of the External Resource Envelope in Sub-Saharan
African Countries, by the Independent Review
Office.
-
Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing
of Terrorism—Review of the Quality and Consistency
of Assessment Reports and the Effectiveness of
Coordination, by the International Monetary
and Financial Systems, and Legal Departments of
the IMF with the World Bank's Financial Sector
Vice-Presidency.
-
Designing Monetary and Fiscal Policy in Low-Income
Countries, by Abebe Aemro Selassie, Benedict
J. Clements, Shamsuddin Tareq, Jan Kees Martijn,
and Gabriel Di Bella, Occasional Paper No. 250.
-
Do Debt-Service Savings and Grants Boost Social
Expenditures? By Alun Thomas, Policy
Development and Review Department, IMF Working
Paper 06/180.
-
Weathering the Storm So Far: The Impact of the
2003-05 Oil Shock on Low-Income Countries, by
Paolo Dudine, James John, Mark Lewis, Luzmaria
Monsai, Helaway Tadesse, and Joerg Zeuner, Policy
Development and Review Department, IMF
Working Paper 06/171.
-
Macroeconomic Volatility: The Policy Lessons from
Latin America, by Anoop Singh, Western
Hemisphere Department, IMF Working Paper 06/166.
-
Can Budget Institutions Counteract Political
Indiscipline? By Stefania Fabrizio and Ashoka
Mody, European Department, IMF Working Paper
06/123.
-
HIV/AIDS: The Impact on Poverty and Inequality,
by Gonzalo Salinas and Markus Haacker, African
Department, IMF Working Paper 06/126.
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