| IMF Approves $177M for Benin
on COVID After Inner City Press Asked Of
Corruption
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Video
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Dec 21 – When the
International Monetary Fund
held its embargoed media
briefing on December 3, Inner
City Press posed questions
including on Kenya and
Mozambique, which got
answered.
IMF
Spokesperson Gerry Rice read
out two of Inner City Press'
questions, see below.
Now on
December 21 on Benin, the IMF
has this: " The Executive
Board of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a
disbursement under the Rapid
Credit Facility (RCF)
equivalent to SDR 41.30
million (US$ 59.35 million,
33.33 percent of quota) and a
purchase under the Rapid
Financing Instrument (RFI)
equivalent to SDR 82.54
million (US$ 118.61 million,
66.67 percent of quota) to
address the urgent fiscal and
balance of payment needs
emerging from efforts to
tackle the persistent impact
of the COVID-19
pandemic. This is the
second IMF emergency
assistance since the outbreak
of the pandemic: on May 15,
2020, the IMF Executive Board
approved an augmentation of
access under the 2017-20 ECF
arrangement of US$ 103.3
million (see IMF Press Release
No 20/216). Today’s additional
financing brings the total IMF
loan assistance provided to
Benin to address COVID-10
pandemic to US$ 281.26
million. The COVID-19
pandemic has had a more severe
impact on economic activity
than anticipated, affecting
almost all sectors of the
economy. Economic prospects
have further deteriorated with
the worsening of the fiscal
and current account deficits.
The IMF emergency support will
finance the scaling up of the
health and economic relief,
shore up confidence, and help
catalyze donor support. To
ensure that the financing
provided is spent as intended
in addressing the crisis, the
authorities have committed to
further enhancing the
transparency of the
procurement process.
Following the Executive Board
discussion, Mr. Mitsuhiro
Furusawa, Deputy Managing
Director and Acting Chair,
made the following
statement: “Benin’s
macroeconomic outlook has
further deteriorated since the
completion in May 2020 of the
sixth and final review under
the ECF-supported arrangement.
Economic growth is projected
to decelerate to 2 percent in
2020, from nearly 7 percent in
2019, as a result of
containment and mitigation
measures, the global economic
slowdown, and the prolonged
border closure with Nigeria."
We'll have more on this.
IMF's Rice on December 3: "On
Kenya, the finance ministry
says it is discussing a $2.3
billion lending program with
the IMF, including an initial
disbursement of $725 million
from IMF in the first half of
2021. What is the status of
talks and what is the IMF's
view of the Standard Gauge
Railway from Mombasa to
Nairobi has a budget of a full
Sh 327 billion, which some say
indicates that the budget for
this project was padded?"
Rice said
discussion are underway and it
should go to the IMF Board in
early 2021. He referred to an
earlier IMF report on the
railway - more on that in transcript,
and video here.
Rice also
read out this, from Inner City
Press: "On Mozambique, what is
the impact on the IMF's
approach of the decision by
the EU on €100 million in
direct support to the State
Budget, with “monitoring and
transparency” clauses? Does
the IMF include similar
clauses, in Mozambique and
elsewhere?"
Rice said
yes, such clauses were
included in the IMF's
disbursement to Mozambique in
April. Again, transcript here,
video here.
When the
IMF addressed Asia and
the Pacific on October 20,
Inner City Press attended and
posed a number of questions.
Now on October 21, here are
two IMF answers:
Inner City Press
Q: On Thailand, new BoT Gov.
Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput
said the country's economy
faces severe shocks from the
pandemic, with a recovery
expected to take at least two
years. What is the IMF's
view?
Answer from IMF
Thailand team: Thailand’s
economy has been extensively
affected by the Covid 19
pandemic through its impact on
tourism and global value
chains. The IMF’s October 2020
WEO projected a GDP
contraction of about 7 percent
this year followed by a 4
percent recovery in 2021. The
recovery is expected to be
gradual given the continued
challenges for the tourism
sector and highly uncertain
path of the pandemic. Staff
supports the authorities’
multi-pronged package of
monetary, fiscal and financial
policies to manage risks from
the pandemic outbreak and to
safeguard financial stability.
Inner City Press
Q: What is the IMF's response
to that Indonesia Investments'
MD van der Schaar says the IMF
expects to see a rebound for
Indonesia in 2021, back above
5% (y/y). "My problem is that
these optimistic outlooks are
based on the availability of a
COVID-19 vaccine in early
2021. However, based on what I
read, it takes years to
develop a safe and effective
vaccine."
Answer from the
IMF Indonesia team: Our growth
forecasts are not predicated
on the assumption that a
vaccine will be available in
early 2021. They are based on
the assumption that the
pandemic situation will
gradually improve and that the
economic reopening continues.
More economic sectors will
recover further and operate at
greater capacity as a result.
Together with an improving
external environment, the
further reopening will result
in a rebound in economic
activity. In addition, a
technical factor is an
important reason why annual
growth in 2021 is forecast to
be somewhat higher than the
growth around 5 percent seen
in recent years. The technical
factor, or base effect,
reflects the contraction in
real GDP in the first half of
2020.
Inner City
Press has also asked, "On Sri
Lanka, what is the IMF's view
on news that Sri Lanka intends
to turn to China for a loan
and the analysis thatthst
confirms China 'as lender of
the last resort to the
strategically located South
Asian island nation(s)'?"
When the IMF
addressed sub Saharan Africa
on October 21, Inner City
Press posed questions on
Cameroon and on Cote d'Ivoire.
Inner City Press
asked the IMF's Abebe Aemro
Selassie, Director, African
Department: "On Cameroon, in
light of the October 21
announcement of additional
COVID-related aid, what
safeguards are in place to
engage a lack of corruption in
distribution, and to prevent
the torture which many human
rights groups allege?"
His answer
involved assurances that the
beneficial owners of companies
getting government contracts,
for COVID and otherwise,
should be made public. Video here.
Inner City
Press also asked about Cote
d'Ivoire, where IMF alumni
Ouattara is running for a
third term. The answer was
largely praising Cote d'Ivoire
economic diversity. Here's
the transcript.
Earlier in
the week, Inner City Press
asked the IMF: "What is the
IMF's assessment of the
turmoil in Kyrgyz Republic?
Can or will the IMF to do
anything to assist, including
on continued COVID-19 response
as well as debt to China /
Eximbank?"
His answer,
interim video here,
recounted the IMF's
pre-turmoil assistance to
Kyrgyzstan. here.
Inner City
Press also asked, "On Yemen,
what is the status of the use
of the new riyal banknotes
printed by the Central Bank in
Yemen, and any actions taken
by the IMF?" and, when called
on by video for a follow-up,
about the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict between Azerbaijan
and Armenia. Video on
YouTube here.
On the
latter, Jihad Azour cited the
IMF's Technical Assistant center
set for Almaty, Kazakhstan
and said the IMF joins in
calls for a ceasefire (which
have been mouthed by but not
followed up on by the
UNresponsive UN). We'll have
more on this.
***
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