SDNY COURTHOUSE,
March 31 – When the
International Monetary Fund
held its biweekly embargoed
press briefing on March 31,
Inner City Press asked about
Sri Lanka and Haiti. On Sri
Lanka it asked for "an update
and what is the IMF's view of
the Rajapaksa government
imposing import restrictions
on 367 items such as fruits,
milk products and fish in a
bid to tackle the foreign
exchange shortage?"
IMF
Spokesperson Gerry Rice
replied that the negotiations
with Sri Lanka will take place
in the coming days, including
with the Finance Minister's
anticipated presence at the
April IMF-World Bank Spring
Meetings in DC, which Inner
City Press will also be
covering. Rice referred to the
IMF's February 25, 2022
statement.
After the
briefing, there was a written
answer on Uganda:
Inner City Press
question: On Uganda and
COVID-19, please state the
IMF's role / portion in
Uganda's Emergency Response to
Covid-19 and, if any, the
IMF's view of the termination
of all workers under the
program at the end of this
month
IMF answers: The
IMF disbursed about $480
million in May 2020 for
emergency response (RCF),
which constitutes about 60
percent of total budget
support for Covid-19 obtained
in FY 20/21 from foreign
sources according to the
special audit of Covid-19th
funds. The IMF also disbursed
about $380 million between
June 2021 and March 2022 as
part of the ECF-supported
program.
·
On your question on the
workers, the IMF urges the
authorities to clear arrears
expeditiously and ring-fence
resources to boost health
spending over the medium term.
On Haiti, which Inner
City Press also covers in
relation to the UN's failures
there including introducing
cholera and paying nothing for
it, Rice said the IMF has been
the number one provider of
external finance to the
country since 2019 and said
more information is coming.
Watch this site, and video here.
Back on
March 17 on South Africa Inner
City Press asked about the
critique of the IMF and its
program by the Economic
Freedom Fighters. Rice said
the IMF is in dialogue with
them and other civil society
groups.
On the widely (mis)
reported suspension at the UN
of Russia's Alexei Mozhin from
a role in the IMF, Rice said
it is from a ceremonial role
only.
Back on
February 10, Inner City Press
asked Rice about
crypto-currency in El Salvador
and the arrest that week of
Bitfinex hackers / launderers
Lichtenstein and Morgan, as
well as about Ghana.
Inner City Press
asked: "On bitcoin and El
Salvador, after the IMF's
recommendation on removing
Bitcoin’s legal tender status,
what is the IMFs' response to
Treasury minister Alejandro
Zelaya saying that “no
international organisation is
going to make us do anything,
anything at all... Countries
are sovereign nations and they
take sovereign decisions about
public policy," and separately
to a published theory that as
the world’s lender of last
resort to sovereign nations,
the IMF is looking to have
fewer, not more, borrowers?" -
and about Lichtenstein.
Rice on
the question of whether the
continued use of Bitcoin would
preclude a program with El
Salvador said these things
need to be discussed. Inner
City Press also asked, "On
Ghana, what are the IMF's
communications with / thinking
on the country given reports
that Ghana’s downgrade by
Moody’s leaves the government
needing to agree a package
with the IMF to achieve policy
credibility?" Rice said there
has been no Ghana request, but
the IMF stands ready. He also
answered on Tunisia and El
Salvador, on which Inner City
Press also asked questions.
Previously, from
IMF transcript of Dec 16,
2021: Matthew Russell Lee,
Inner City Press: I've asked
you a number of times about
cryptocurrency in El Salvador.
You've given, you know, the
answers that you've given. I
saw that the chief economist
said, at least to me,
something that seems slightly
different saying developing
economies should regulate it,
rather than try to ban
cryptocurrency. I just wanted
to ask you, maybe is there a
new position on this? Is there
something -- can you say a
little bit more particularly
how it might apply to what's
been said thus far about El
Salvador. And also on --
I just -- I'm sure everyone
has seen the spat between
Brazil and the IMF. Where does
that stand? Is it, I guess, is
the current status that the
IMF is going to leave the
country in June of next year?
And what more can you say
about it in response? Thanks a
lot.
MR. RICE: Thank
you. So on crypto currencies,
El Salvador, and so on, your
first question, your quite
right. We did issue a blog
actually last week from our
monetary and financial
counselor, Tobias Adrian
(phonetic) and colleagues. And
you're quite right to
characterize it the way you
did, Matthew, which was a call
a strong call for regulation
in the realm of
cryptocurrency. So, so that's
quite right. On El
Salvador specifically, our
view has not changed. We
support the authority's
efforts to boost financial
inclusion and raise growth,
but the risks arising from
using bitcoin as legal tender
need to be addressed. Crypto
technologies and digital
payment systems have the
potential to make payments
more efficient, but given
bitcoin's high price
volatility, its use as legal
tender entails significant
risks to consumer protection,
financial integrity, and
financial stability. And
it’s used also gives rise to
fiscal contingent liabilities.
So, our view on what we've
said about El Salvador and
bitcoin specifically, being
used as legal tender, our
views there have not changed.
I'm essentially, as you know,
probably repeating,
reiterating what I've said
here before. On your
question about Brazil, the IMF
agreed with the Brazilian
authorities to close the IMF
representative's office in
Brasilia by June 30, 2022,
which is what you were saying.
And that's when the term of
the current IMF representative
expires. So, like with many
other member countries, the
office in Brazil was opened
during the time when we had a
significant financial
arrangement with Brazil. That
was its initial purpose. And
while that IMF arrangement
with Brazil finished, the
office was kept open to
facilitate dialogue between
Fund staff and the
authorities, this has
happened. This has been
the case also with a number of
other countries in the past.
You know, we would open an
office particularly at the
time of crisis, at a time when
there's a financial
arrangement. And then over
time we close the office. So,
this has happened in the past.
I would want to emphasize that
we expect the high quality of
the Fund's engagement with the
Brazilian authorities to
continue as we work closely to
support Brazil in
strengthening its economic
policy and institutional
settings. So, that would be my
comment on Brazil. Thank you
very much, Matthew.
In November,
Inner City Press asked about
Ethiopia and Tigray, Chad and
its Glencore debt, and the
IMF's status with Zambia.
Spokesperson Gerry Rice
responded on each. Podcast here.
Short video of Q&As on
Twitter here.
IMF video here
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.
(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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