IMF
Stresses Lagarde
NOT Call for
Wealth Tax,
Ignores Africa
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 24 --
That the
International
Monetary Fund
under
Christine
Lagarde has
devoted more
and more of
its members'
money to
Europe is one
thing. But her
IMF now won't
even answer
basic
questions
about other
continents,
most notably
sub-Saharan
Africa.
At
Thursday's
bi-weekly IMF
press
briefing, amid
in-room
questions
about
Ireland and
Greece and
Cyprus, Inner
City Press,
Inner City
Press
submitted two
questions
about Africa:
Sudan and the
Democratic
Republic of
the Congo.
On
Sudan, after
Managing
Director
Lagarde's
meeting with
Sudanese
financial
minister
Abdel-Rasool,
what steps if
any have been
taken
regarding the
country's
debt, what are
the prospects
and issues?
On
DR Congo, does
Gecamines
reportedly
concealing its
possible sale
of
its stake in
Kamoto Copper
Co. to Dan
Gertler impact
on the chances
of the IMF
reviving its
$532M DRC
program or
starting a new
one?
But
despite
multiple
submissions,
and a separate
e-mail, these
Africa
questions were
not even read
out. Rather,
repetitive
questions
about
Europe, a question
about Egyptian
officials
saying the IMF
insulted that
that was not
answered, old
Argentina
questions (the
IMF said it
had "nothing
fresh"), and a
pointed
clarification
that the IMF
is not, repeat
not,
recommending a
wealth tax. Of
course not!
That
clarification
was made
electronically
to deputy
spokesperson
William
Murray. He
said, my
colleagues
want me to
make this
clear. But the
colleague did
not highlight
or allow the
Africa
questions.
Finally,
just
before the
10:30 embargo,
on the DRC
this came in:
Subject:
RE:
Question
Received
From: ____ at
IMF
Date: Thu, Oct
24, 2013
at 10:21 AM
To: Matthew
Russell Lee
[at]
InnerCityPress.com
Hi
Matthew:
Please find
below the
responses to
your question
on DRC.
We’ll get back
to you on
Sudan.
· As
we have
already said,
the Fund
stands ready
to start
program
negotiations
with DRC if
the
authorities
request it.
·
Background: In
May 2013 the
authorities
published an
affidavit
on the Comide
transaction,
paving the way
for the
reengagement
of the
IMF in a
program
context if the
authorities
request it.
The
point is, now
there is
another
Gecamines
cover-up. That
doens't
change
anything?
Watch this
site.
, 
