At
IMF,
No Comment on Ukraine & Cote d'Ivoire Shutdowns, US
Reform of GSE
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 17 -- Amid pushback in Greece and Ireland and
protests in Ukraine, the IMF's biweekly press was particularly wan on
Thursday. Inner City Press had submitted a question on Ukraine (as
well as Cote d'Ivoire and the USA), but none of them were read out.
The USA question was never asked. On Ukraine, when another reporter
asked, IMF spokesman David Hawley said “I have nothing on” that.
Inner
City Press
had asked, and by embargo deadline got no answer or explanation, “On
Ukraine, what is the IMF's response to protests blaming the IMF for
the proposal to cut pensions in half and raise the retirement age?”
On
Cote d'Ivoire,
where after suspension of IMF programs the private banks and now
bourse have closed down, Hawley said “I don't have anything
specific on Cote d'Ivoire... naturally we are following it closely.”
But to what end?
Inner
City Press
had asked, and by embargo deadline got no answer or explanation, “On
Cote d'Ivoire, now with banks and bourse shut down, what would be the
conditions for the IMF to in fact provide the $565.7 million under
the PRGF arrangement?”
Finally,
on the
USA Inner City Press had asked, “In the US, the IMF urged housing
sector reform, including of the Government Sponsored Enterprises.
What does the IMF think of the GSE plan recently announced by the
US?”
After
the
briefing, Inner City Press asked Hawley and the chief spokesperson
Caroline Atkinson, apparently traveling with Dominique Strauss Kahn,
to explain the failure to answer or even acknowledge these timely
submitted questions.
IMF's DSK, Hawley on left, answers on Cote
d'Ivoire, Ukraine & GSEs not shown
DSK
has deployed
his spouse to say she does not favor another term at the IMF, thereby
coyly implying a run for French presidency. Watch this site.
Footnote: the IMF's
position(s) on Kosovo came up Wednesday outside the UN Security Council.
But questions to the IMF were not possible -- while this cross UN
system questions would seem to be one of the reasons for the IMF's
online briefing. We'll see.
* * *
IMF
Postpones
Kosovo
&
Pakistan,
Waiting
for Stronger Governments, Dodges on
Sudan But Answers on Tunisia
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January
6,
updated
--
Questions of Pakistan and Kosovo and the International
Monetary
Fund's
longing for strong governments arose at the IMF's fortnightly media
briefing on Thursday. Inner City Press asked, and IMF spokesperson
Caroline Atkinson read out with a cautionary note, the following on
Pakistan:
“On
Pakistan, what is the IMF's thinking after the assassination of
Punjab's governor, as the government loses power -- [here Ms Atkinson
added, “those are Matthew's words”] -- is it realistic to think
the IMF's conditions will be met?”
In
response, she
said Pakistan has been given nine additional months. But what will be
different then?
Later
in
the
briefing,
Ms.
Aktinson
read out the rare Balkan question, also from
Inner City Press:
“On
Kosovo, what are the IMF's views on Mr. Thaci's proposal to double
public sector salaries, and on the Council of Europe's allegations
this once and seeming future PM was involved in organ trafficking?”
How
ever
distasteful the organ reference may have been to Ms. Atkinson, she
replied that “we have, as Matthew may know, an eighteen month”
program with Kosovo, the December consideration of which has been
postponed.
A
link between
these two may be that while the IMF does impose conditions on its
loans, it prefers to say that governments, particularly legislatures,
have approved or even chosen between the choices presented by the
IMF. This legitimates the IMF, and also may help in collecting the
money down the road.
Kosovo
is
in
political
turmoil,
and
Pakistan no longer even controls large swaths
of its territory -- nor, apparently more importantly to the IMF, its
political space.
Protest in Tunisia, IMF role & even
acknowledgment of question not shown
Submitted
but
not
acknowledge
during
the
briefing by Ms. Atkinson was this question,
about Tunisia:
“On
Tunisia, given the IMF's role and statements, what can IMF say about
the unrest that has followed the death of protester Mohamed Bouazizi
and others?”
We
will await the
IMF's acknowledgement and answer of this question, and a more
detailed response on Sudan and the IMF's role in the debt issues, on
which the UN has said “the Bretton Woods institutions are taking
the lead.” Watch this site.
Update
of
1
pm
-
Two
hours after deadline, the following arrived, with the
notation that it should be attributed to an IMF spokesperson:
“We
deeply regret the recent surge of violence in Tunisia. The IMF
remains engaged with the Tunisian authorities and follows the
developments closely. Unemployment in Tunisia has declined slightly
in the last decade, but remains high, especially among the young. In
this context, IMF staff continues to encourage the authorities to
pursue structural reforms critical to achieve higher growth, enhance
competitiveness and address the problem of persistent high
unemployment. Such reforms include measures to increase productivity
by improving the business environment, reforming labor market policy,
increasing capital investment, and modernizing and strengthening the
financial sector.”
We'll
have
more
on
this.
, 
