SDNY COURTHOUSE,
March 31 – When the
International Monetary Fund
held its biweekly embargoed
press briefing on March 25,
Inner City Press asked about
Pakistan, Costa Rica and
African finance ministers'
comments on SDRs and COVID
vaccines. Video
forthcoming.
Spokesperson Gerry Rice
responded on each, below.
Now on March 31
to Namibia, this: "he
Executive Board of the
International Monetary Fund
(IMF) approved today an
outright purchase of SDR 191.1
million (about US$270.83
million) to Namibia under the
Rapid Financing Instrument
(RFI). This will help the
country address urgent balance
of payments and fiscal
financing needs stemming from
the negative impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic. IMF
financing will also contribute
to catalyzing additional
financing from development
partners. Namibia has
been severely affected by the
COVID‑19 pandemic. Worsening
global conditions and a local
outbreak have deteriorated
Namibia’s short-term
macroeconomic outlook,
hindered mining exports,
tourism, investment inflows
and weighed on tax revenues.
The Namibian economy is
estimated to have sharply
contracted by 7.2 percent in
2020, and the recovery is set
to remain subdued at 2.1
percent in 2021."
Inner City Press
asked, "On SDRs to low-income
and middle-income countries,
African finance ministers
noted that IMF’s PRGT should
be considered for this, that
funding the PRGT with SDRs
could facilitate the
acquisition of vaccines by
low-income countries - what is
the IMF's response and view?"
The IMF's
Rice among other things cited
$24 billion since COVID hit,
including "recycled" SDRs.
Inner City Press
asked, On Costa Rica, what are
the IMF's comments on and
reactions to protests ats the
government tries to eliminate
hundreds of “pluses” /
supplementary payments that it
pays employees - "it is all at
risk if the IMF bill gets
greatly watered down in the
face of protests, according to
Fernando Losada, director of
emerging market research for
Oppenheimer & Co.
Inc. “Execution risks
remain high,” Losada wrote in
a note. IMF?
The IMF's
Rice said the bill is supposed
to be passed in May and would
bring "equity" to public
employments.
Inner
City Press
asked, On
Pakistan, what is the IMF's
role in and response to that
the government has decided to
raise electricity prices
considerably over the next few
years, which many attirbute to
the IMF? It's said the federal
government will have increased
the price of electricity by Rs
4.6 per unit by the year
2023. In the short term,
electricity price is set to
rise by Rs 2.55 per unit by
June 2021."
The IMF's
Rice said the reforms are the
decision of Pakistan
authorities. Full transcript
to follow.
Back
on March 11 in a question
Inner City Press, given what
it has reported on for the
past three days was compelled
to ask, it sent and asked, "On
Honduras, given mounting
evidence including in the
trial of Geovanny
Fuentes-Ramirez that high
government officials are
implicated in
narco-trafficking, what are
the IMF's comments on current
programs and safeguards in
place?"
As noted,
Spokesperson Rice said that
IMF does not comment on
(pending) judicial
proceedings. At least he took
the question.
Watch this site.
Back on January 8
Inner City Press asked the
IMF's Helge Berger, Mission
Chief, about China's so-called
Belt and Road Initiative:
"Your Article IV report cites
China's "overseas lending
projects" amid "rising
geopolitical tensions and
economic and trade frictions."
How does the IMF think that
rising debt levels among
African countries, and
increased skepticism about the
"Belt and Road" will impact or
be addressed going forward?
-Matthew Russell Lee, Inner
City Press. Video here.
Berger
responded about
the IMF's work
to provide
lower income
countries
"breathing
space." He
said while the
IMF generally
welcomes the
BRI it stresses the
need for
transparency,
where the
money is
going.
(An aside: Inner
City Press has
reported on
the CEFC China
Energy Fund
Committee's
activities in
Chad and
Uganda and in
the UN, on
which the UN is
UNresponsive.)
Other questions
included
China's digital
currency (Inner
City Press also reports
on
crypto-currency
cases in the
U.S. District
Court for the
Southern
District of
New York and
elsewhere).
Berger said
when used
overseas an
issue is that
residents
could start
using another
country's
currency, if
it is easier.
We'll have more
on this.
***
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