SDNY COURTHOUSE,
July 16 – When the
International Monetary Fund
held its biweekly embargoed
press briefing on July 15,
Inner City Press asked about
crypto-currency legislation in
Paraguay and again El
Salvador, about the
assassination in Haiti and
COVID-19 lack of transparency
in Cameroon.
Spokesperson Gerry Rice
responded on each. Short video
on Twitter here;
YouTube here.
Inner City Press
also submitted a question in
writing about Sri Lanka, which
has now been answered on July
16. On July 15 Inner City
Press asked: "On Sri Lanka
what is the IMF's response to
that Fitch Ratings has
downgraded Sri Lanka to its
CCC category, indicating a
real possibility of default.
It said the country’s foreign
debt obligation will balloon
to USD29 billion over the next
five years. Officials said
they hope to attract more
foreign investment and avoid
seeking help from the IMF."
And on July 16,
Mr. Masahiro Nozaki, IMF
mission chief for Sri Lanka,
responded to Inner City Press'
question: "as usual, we
refrain from commenting on
rating actions or individual
reports by analysts.
Staff continue to engage with
Sri Lankan authorities and
plan to discuss macroeconomic
developments, outlook, and
macroeconomic policies in the
context of the next Article IV
consultation, which is
expected to take place later
this year. We have not
received a request for
financial support from Sri
Lanka recently, but stand
ready to discuss options if
requested." It's appreciated.
On July 15 Inner
City Press asked, "On Paraguay
and crypto-currency, what is
the IMF's response to the July
14 announcement of the
"Bitcoin Bill" there? And, if
any updates on El Salvador."
For the IMF, Rice
said he did not have any
comparator on Paraguay - yet?
- and he said that discussions
with El Salvador about a
program continue. He
emphasized that El Salvador
has clarified that "holding
Bitcoin is optional."
Inner City Press
on Cameroon asked, among other
things, if there was any meat
on the bones of calls for
transparency, giving the
missing COVID-19 money. Rice
said the IMF had met with the
women leaders who wrote to it,
and that a third RCF facility
will be considered by the IMF
Board in the coming weeks.
Watch this site.
On Haiti,
after Inner City Press asked
about the assassination and
where things stand, Rice for
the IMF condemned the attack
and said that the form of
future support cannot be
described but that the IMF
looks forward to working with
the incoming government.
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.
(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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