IMF
Cites Afghan
"Capacity"
After Bombing,
Disappointed
in Congress
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 23 --
A week after
the
International
Monetary
Fund's
resident
representative
in Afghanistan
Wabel Abdallah
was among
those
killed in the
Kabul
restaurant
bombing, Inner
City Press
asked the
IMF if after
the killing
there are or
will be any
changes in or
impacts on the
IMF's programs
in the
country.
IMF
spokesperson
William
Murray, at the
Fund's
bi-weekly
media
briefing,
answered that
"I
can't draw a
straight line
from what
happened last
week to the
status
of the
program.. at
this juncture.
Program
implementation
has been
mixed, due to
capacity and
program
ownership. A
mission
visited in
September for
2013 Article 4
discussion. We
have ongoing
discussions
on the second
and third
review of our
program." He
did not
describe the
status.
The
UN with its
UNAMA mission
in the country
would be
impacted by
the BSA
negotiations
between the
Obama
Administration
and the
Afghans, but
won't comment
on it. This
week, UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon
acted on US
concerns
expressed
about his
having invited
Iran to the
Syria talks in
Montreux.
Some
note that
while the IMF
has at time
been view more
clearly as an
extension of
US policy, the
UN
bent even more
automatically,
overnight.
The IMF by
contrast this
month
expressed
disappointment
with the US,
if only with
Congress for
not approving
funding needed
for the IMF's
quota reforms.
On
Iran, the
IMF's Murray
described an
Article 4
visit to begin
January
25. Inner City
Press asked
two Africa
question which
have yet to be
answered by
embargo
deadline:
On
Malawi, what
is the IMF's
comment on the
donors'
grouping
"Common
Approach to
Budgetary
Support" not
resuming aid
even after IMF
resumed its
program, in
light of the
so-called
Cashgate
corruption
scandal?
On
Zimbabwe, what
is the IMF or
its
Staff-Monitored
Program's
response
to the country
saying its
external debt
is $6.1
billion, not
$11
billion as IMF
said?
Zimbabwe
is
among the
countries NOT
invited to the
Obama
administration's
Africa summit
in August --
along with the
also
IMF-relevant
Egypt.
We'll have
more on this.
Watch this
site.
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