On
Ivorian Fuel
Subsidy Cuts
Inner City
Press Asks IMF
of Its Role It
Cites Cash
Transfers
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
May 11 – When the
International Monetary Fund
held its media briefing on May
11, 2023, Inner City Press
posed questions including
about Ivory Coast / Cote
d'Ivoire and whether the IMF
is urging curtailing subsidies
on food and fuel.
Later the
IMF spokesperson told Inner
City Press: "“The Ivorian
authorities have decided to
unwind measures taken to deal
with recent crises including
the high fuel prices in 2022,
as part of their own
consolidation efforts. They
have reinstated their
pre-crisis fuel price
mechanism in order to reduce
wasteful and untargeted fuel
subsidies. At the same time,
they continue to expand more
targeted support for
vulnerable households by their
cash transfer system.”
Inner City Press
also asked: "on Argentina,
crypto and the IMF, what is
the IMF's response to those
who say the country's recent
ban on digital assets is an
effect of / condition imposed
by the IMF?"
It asked about El
Salvador and other IMF country
program negotiations.
Spokesperson Julie Kozack
explained that the IMF opposes
cryptocurrency as a legal
tender - as in El Salvador -
it view digital assets as
investments differently.
Informal video here.
Inner City Press
has submitted a follow up
question, and later in the day
received this from IMF
spokesperson: "Can be
attributed to IMF
spokesperson.
On crypto assets, although
they have some purported
benefits, they can pose
macro-financial risks. To
strike a balance between
reaping the benefits of
innovation and guarding
against risks, a globally
consistent, coordinated, and
comprehensive regulatory
framework is vital. However,
crypto assets should not be
granted official currency or
legal tender status in order
to safeguard monetary
sovereignty and stability."
As
to the US, the IMF was asked
about the regional bank
failures, the debt ceiling,
the 14th Amendment and even
the trillion dollar coin.
Watch this site.
***
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