IMF
Tells ICP of
Burundi On
Hold, Nepal On
Ground, Ghana
& Jamaica
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, May
14 -- Amid the
protests and
crackdown
after Pierre
Nkurunziza was
nominated to
run for a
third term as
President in
seeming
violation of
the Arusha
Peace Accord,
on May 13
General
Godefroid
Niyombare
announced the
ouster of
Nkurunziza.
On May
14, Inner City
Press has
asked the
International
Monetary
Fund's
spokesperson
Gerry Rice at
the IMF
biweekly
embargoed
briefing:
"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.
A question remains
outstanding on
Tunisia. Inner
City Press has
asked, "On
Tunisia, it is
reported that
“Tunisia is
under a
standby
agreement with
the IMF for
$1.6bn,
although not
all is yet
dispersed
because of the
delays in
reform.” Is
that an
accurate
statement, on
delay(s)? What
are the next
steps?" Watch
this site.
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