By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 5 --
At the International
Monetary Fund's
biweekly
embargoed
briefing on
Thursday Inner
City Press
asked IMF
spokesperson
Gerry Rice
about the
IMF's process
in Ghana (and
in Mongolia,
see below).
Inner City
Press asked
"In Ghana,
President
Mahama on Feb
3 said, 'Ghana
is committed
to securing an
IMF programme
and we are
confident that
we will reach
agreement with
the IMF by the
end of this
quarter.' What
is the process
/ status at
the IMF?"
IMF
spokesperson
Rice said
there has been
"good
progress," and
mentioned
"cleaning up
the payroll"
and "medium
term reforms,"
as well as
considering
the impact of
declining oil
prices.
On
August 28,
2014 on Ghana
Inner City
Press had
asked
“Convention
People’s Party
chair Samia
Nkrumah has
said, 'It will
be erroneous
to accept the
fact that IMF
conditionalities
could not be
rejected since
in 1965,
Ghana, under
the First
President, Dr
Kwame Nkrumah,
rejected the
proposal of
the IMF when
they
recommended
the sale of
national
assets such as
factories in
exchange for a
loan.' What is
the IMF's
response?”
Rice
then said that
the IMF team
will be in
Accra in
September.
Things have
moved since
then.
On February 5
about Mongolia,
Inner City
Press asked, "what
is the process
forward on
their request
for an IMF
stand-by
arrangement?
When will a
visit to the
country take
place?"
Rice replied,
"The IMF has
received a
request from
the Mongolian
authorities to
begin
discussions of
possible
support to
Mongolia. The
IMF will be
sending a team
to Ulaanbaatar
soon to
initiate these
discussions."
The
February 5
briefing began
with drama and
a guest:
Christine
Lagarde on
Ebola, in
English and
French, taking
two questions
then out.
The
IMF said,
"subject to
Board approval
of requests
from the
individual
countries, it
is expected
that the CCR
trust would
provide
grants-for-debt
relief of
close to $100
million for
the three
countries
affected by
Ebola in West
Africa
–Liberia,
Sierra Leone,
and Guinea.
These funds
would come in
addition to
the $130
million of
assistance
provided in
September 2014
and to
a second round
of new
concessional
loans
amounting to
about $160
million to be
considered
soon by the
Executive
Board."
Lagarde
said that one
country, which
she left
unnamed, has
made a
commitment
that they will
be announcing.
She cited
non-Paris club
members,
naming only
Russia as a
creditor of
Guinea. She
said there'll
be more at the
G20 in Istanbul.
After that,
there were
seven questions
to Lagarde's
spokesperson
Gerry Rice
about Greece
-- he declined
to comment on
the ECB
further
squeezing
Greece -- then
two on
Ukraine, where
the IMF is
said to be in
line for only
$6 billion of
the $15
billion now
requested. US
John Kerry is
in Kiev today,
including on
IMF. Then the
Inner City
Press two
questions, and
one not
answered on
Sri Lanka:
In
Sri Lanka on
bank
consolidation,
new Central
Bank Governor
Arjuna
Mahendran has
said “I have
also asked the
IMF to send
some technical
experts to
look at these
issues from an
international
perspective
and they have
agreed to do
so.” Can you
confirm that?
Would it be in
connection
with IMF visit
at the end of
February?
On Sri Lanka,
which was not
answered
during the IMF
briefing, the
new government
is cutting off
payments to Lagarde's
predecessor
Dominique Strauss
Kahn, who once
out through
the revolving
door (of a
Manhattan
hotel) sold
his services
to the
Rajapaksas.
Any comment,
or future
safeguards, on
that?
After
the briefing
and expiration
of the embargo
there was this
answer by
Gerry Rice of
the IMF: "“We
have been
discussing
with the
authorities a
multi-faceted
technical
assistance
mission on
financial
sector issues.
Looking at
financial
system
stability and
supervision in
the context of
the ongoing
consolidation
process is one
element. We
are currently
putting
together a
team to send
to Colombo,
but will
discuss with
the CBSL
specific needs
in the next
week so that
we can select
the best
experts and
structure the
mission. It
will likely
take place
after the
staff visit in
February, as
this is a
separate,
technical
assistance
exercise.”
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