To
Haiti, IMF
Announces $69.7M
Program, Silent
on Electricity,
Cholera
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
WASHINGTON,
May 20 -- With
Haiti, the
International
Monetary Fund
announced a
$67.9 million
arrangement
under its
Extended
Credit
Facility on
May 20, 50
days after it
answered Inner
City Press on
electrical
subsidies that
it was "in
discussions
with regard to
a possible
follow up
program."
The
IMF's May 20
announcement,
published here
one minte
after the
embargo, says
that
“The Executive
Board of the
International
Monetary Fund
(IMF) approved
a three-year
SDR 49.14
million (about
US$69.7
million, 60
percent of
quota)
arrangement
under the
Extended
Credit
Facility (ECF)
for Haiti on
Monday, May
18, 2015. The
approval
enables the
immediate
disbursement
of an amount
equivalent to
SDR 7.02
million (about
US$10
million),
while the
remaining
amount will be
phased over
the duration
of the
arrangement,
subject to
semi-annual
program
reviews.
“The
authorities’
ECF-supported
program aims
to raise
Haiti’s growth
potential and
reduce
vulnerabilities
to shocks,
while
entrenching
macroeconomic
stability.
“Following the
Executive
Board’s
discussion on
Haiti, Mr. Min
Zhu, Deputy
Managing
Director, and
Acting Chair,
made the
following
statement:
'Haiti’s
pursuit of
macroeconomic
stability in
the aftermath
of the 2010
earthquake is
commendable—growth
has been
positive,
inflation has
remained
moderate, and
international
reserve levels
adequate.
Going forward,
continued
efforts are
needed to
support
sustained and
inclusive
growth,
strengthen
institutions
and the policy
framework, and
maintain
adequate
buffers to
absorb
shocks.'”
There
was no mention
of cholera,
much less of
the UN
system's role.
Back on
March 26 after
reports that
the
International
Monetary Fund
is pressuring
Haiti to cut
or "reform"
electricity
subsidies,
Inner City
Press went to
the IMF and
asked
spokesperson
William Murray
about it. Video
here, from
Minute 39:23;
transcript
here:
Inner City
Press: This is
the kind of
question that
sometimes
doesn’t get --
you can't get
it in online.
So I wanted to
ask it since
I'm here.
MR. MURRAY:
Yeah, welcome
to Washington.
Inner City
Press: It has
to do with
Haiti. There's
reporting in
Haiti that the
IMF may
decline to
sign an
agreement or
to proceed
with them
given the sub
-- you know,
if they
continue to
subsidize Electricite
d'Haiti.
And so, people
are obviously
very
concerned. A
lot of people
don't have any
electricity.
Is that -- do
you either
know or can
you get an
answer on what
the status of
that is?
MR. MURRAY:
Let me check
to see. I
don't, you
know, this is
not something
that jumps out
at me at the
moment but let
me see if I
have something
to offer you
on that. We
will get back
to you and
we'll share
with everybody
here. Hold on
a second. Let
me see if we
have -- I have
something on
Haiti. I don't
believe I have
anything
that's really
current at the
moment but let
me just see.
Yeah, I don't.
I'm going to
have get back
to you on
that. We can
talk
afterwards and
then, we'll
share it.
It'll go -- as
our standard
practice, when
we receive
questions,
this is for
the audience
out there as
well, when we
receive
questions of a
nature where I
don’t have an
immediate
answer, we
will
incorporate
the answer --
the question
and the answer
that we give
in the
transcript
that we
publish and
we'll make
that -- we'll
bracket it
somehow to
make sure it's
clear that it
was inserted.
But you'll see
also this
conversation
in the
transcript.
But
when the
transcript
went online,
there was no
answer.
On March 31,
this arrived
from the IMF:
"Here is what
we have on
your question
on Haiti: 'At
the request of
the
authorities,
we are
currently in
discussions
with regard to
a possible
follow up
program.'”
Watch this
site..
On March 18
after the UN
Security
Council held
its
semi-annual
debate on
Haiti, with 28
speakers, on
March 18,
Inner City
Press
asked UN envoy
Sandra Honore
to explain
paragraph 11
of her speech,
in which she
said:
"The radical
opposition has
continued to
criticize the
recent
political
breakthrough
and has not
desisted from
organizing
anti-Government
demonstrations,
calling for
the
resignation of
President
Martelly and
capitalizing
on
socio-economic
grievances
such as the
recent general
strikes over
fuel prices
and teachers'
salaries."
Isn't it
Haitians'
right, to
protest? Such
protests
elsewhere,
against other
leaders, are
lionized. So
what had
Honore meant?
She
insisted it
wasn't
pejorative. Video here. Inner City
Press also
asked about
the spike in
cholera cases,
and to comment
on if the UN
denying and
evading
responsibility
for bringing
the disease
harmed the
UN's
"legitimacy
and moral
standing."
Honore
cited a
particular
water source,
and said
cholera in
Haiti has not
impaired the
UN's work
around the
world. Really?
Video
here.
Honore's
speech did not
mention the UN
mission
MINUSTAH
shooting at
demonstrators.
On March 17,
Inner City
Press asked
the UN:
Inner City
Press: on what
you said about
the reports
becoming
public, one
suddenly came
back to mind
is the report
from MINUSTAH
on the
shooting of
demonstrators.
I know it's
been said a
number of
times it was
being
finalized.
It happened in
December and
it's now
March.
Is that
released?
When is that
report going
to be
released?
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
We'll let you
know once it
can be… once
it has been
finalized for
release.
But, at this
stage, I
believe what
Stéphane has
already said
about this
remains the
case, that the
person
involved in
this was
suspended from
duty.
Honore
on March 18
said
MINUSTAH's
report is
finished and
is "with"
DPKO. We'll
have more on
this.
, 
