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By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - The Source

NEW YORK, SDNY, Sept 23 – When the International Monetary Fund held its biweekly embargoed media briefing on September, Inner City Press submitted questions including on Belarus, Kenya, Honduras and Cameroon which IMF Spokesperson Gerry Rice took and answered.

   Inner City Press asked about investigations of corruption in COVID-19 spending in Kenya, the Cameroon of Paul Biya and the Honduras of Juan Orlando Hernandez, and fellow strongman Aleksandr Lukashenko's claim to state Belarusian Telegraph Agency, BelTA, that the IMF offered him a "bribe" of $940 million as Covid Relief Aid, demanding that he "impose "extreme lockdown on his people," force them to wear face masks and impose very strict curfews, see below.

  On September 23 Inner City Press pre-asked the IMF about Sudan and five other questions. On Sudan, after the question but before the September 24 briefing, the IMF announced this: "The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) endorsed the Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) approved by the Managing Director on September 9, 2020 as meeting the Upper Credit Tranche Conditionality (UCT) standard. [1]  Following the Executive Board discussion, Ms. Antoinette Sayeh, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, made the following statement:  “With the move to a transitional government, Sudan now has a window of opportunity for fundamental reforms to address major macro imbalances and lay the groundwork for inclusive growth. The transitional government has laid out a home-grown program of reforms aimed at stabilizing the economy, removing distortions, improving competitiveness, and strengthening governance. The authorities have requested an IMF Staff-Monitored Program to establish a track record on policy and reform implementation, which is a requirement for eventual debt relief visa-vis official creditors.  “The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the challenges facing the country. Fiscal and external imbalances are large, inflation is high at 167 percent in August and rising, and competitiveness is weak. The humanitarian situation is dire with large numbers of internally displaced people and refugees.  “Under the 12-month SMP covering July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021, the authorities plan to continue the process of eliminating large fuel subsidies making space for greater social spending, including for the Sudan Family Support Program and health spending; the tax base will also be broadened, including through the rationalization of tax exemptions. The resulting fiscal adjustment is key to reducing monetization and inflation. The authorities also intend to take measures toward a unified market-clearing exchange rate. The removal of economic distortions together with measures to improve governance will reduce opportunities for corruption and help strengthen the business environment and competitiveness. A key element to the success of the program is sufficient donor funding to support the population through the difficult transition to a well-functioning market-based economy. Strong coordination among donors and IFIs on technical assistance to Sudan will also be important.  “Sudan’s external debt is high and with longstanding arrears which severely limit access to external borrowing. In particular, Sudan remains unable to access IMF resources because of its continued arrears to the Fund. A strong track record of macroeconomic performance and implementation of reforms, together with a comprehensive strategy of arrears clearance and debt relief supported by Sudan’s development partners, is required for addressing Sudan’s high debt overhang.”  Watch this site.

    On September 10 Rice replied that while the IMF does require recipients to follow WHO guidelines to contain the virus. On corruption, he declined to answer country by country but cited an IMF online tracker on which we'll have more. Interestingly, he said the move of more things like this online has benefits, including in fighting corruption.  But we ask, at the UN?

  Back in July IMF spokesperson Rice said, "We got some questions from Matthew Lee in New York, including on Zambia, and he was asking, what's the state of play? What's the IMF's thinking? What does the IMF think the role of debt to China in the nation's current situation?  I have spoken about Zambia recently here at the podium. In terms of the current status, yes, the Zambian authorities have requested IMF support for their economic program to restore macroeconomic stability, as well has assistance under our emergency financing to help address the human and the economic impact of the pandemic.  I can tell you, that a virtual IMF staff mission took place June 22 to July 10 to discuss the emergency financing request. Progress was made, but discussions continue as the authorities determine their policies and priorities in the context of their revised 2020 budget, as well as the medium-term fiscal stance needed to restore debt sustainability, revive growth and reduce poverty. That’s where we are on Zambia."

 At least the IMF answers Press questions. We'll have more on this - watch this site. 

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