All eyes were on Singapore in
September for the 2006 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings. The
major development was the membership's endorsement of
reform of IMF governance, a centerpiece of the IMF's
Medium-Term Strategy. The reforms designed to realign
voting rights at the Fund over the course of two years are
meant to make the organization more relevant to its
membership and better equipped to face the challenges of
the globalized economy (see article).
From a civil society perspective,
the Singapore Meetings were noteworthy for several
reasons. The IMF and World Bank accredited the largest
number of civil society organization (CSOs)
representatives ever, and there was broad engagement in a
process of consultation with Asian CSOs to prepare the
civil society forum, in which many
Fund and Bank staff participated along with CSOs from 60
countries. The Annual Meetings were also marked by a
dispute over CSO access to the gathering—and, in certain
instances, to Singapore. An article
explains how the situation evolved and was resolved.
The August edition of the Newsletter
published an
article on how the resources freed up by the
Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) are being
used in most African countries. This edition
follows up with a summary of the use
of MDRI resources in some of the other countries that have
benefited from debt relief.
Many of the CSOs that have
interacted with the Fund over the past five years know
Simonetta Nardin, the most visible representative of the
IMF's civil society outreach. As of November, Simonetta
has moved on to new responsibilities in the IMF External
Relations Department, involving communication strategy and
other outreach activities. We are pleased to inform that
Jenny Bisping, whom many already know, will continue to be
a main point of contact for CSOs. To make sure no email
gets lost, please continue to direct your correspondence
to ngoliaison@imf.org
.
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Contents
Feature Article:
At the Singapore Annual Meetings,
IMF members
voted on a
set of reforms that, over the course of two years, are
meant to make the organization more relevant to its
membership and better equipped to face the challenges of
the globalized economy. The reforms aim at ensuring that
changes in the world economy in recent years are reflected
in the governance of the Fund. This is an issue that is at
the heart of the Fund's credibility and legitimacy as an
international organization.
The steps include an immediate
increase of
quota shares for four emerging-market countries
(China, Mexico, South Korea, and Turkey); an agreement to
review the formula that determines Fund quotas and voting
rights by the 2007 Annual Meetings; and an agreement to
protect the voice of low-income countries by guaranteeing
that their basic votes will at least be doubled. There is
a clear commitment to guarantee that all countries have a
voice, regardless of their weight in the global economy.
The package of reforms was approved by 92 percent of the
membership. Steps will be taken in the coming discussions
to address the concerns of the countries that voted
against the reforms.
Quotas determine a country's
financial commitment to the IMF and its voting power in
the institution, and they play a role in determining
access to IMF financing. The current quota formula takes
into account various economic factors, including GDP,
current account transactions, and official reserves. In
recent years, there have been only gradual changes in IMF
quotas, and a rebalancing is needed to bring the quota
structure more into line with the current structure of the
world economy.
The reforms approved in Singapore
also include a proposed amendment of the Fund's Articles
of Agreement to at least double basic votes. That action
would, at a minimum, protect the existing voting share of
low-income countries as a group. Each IMF member has 250
basic votes plus one additional vote for each SDR 100,000
of quota (an SDR is the Fund's "currency," roughly
equivalent to US$1.49). The Fund will also work to
strengthen the offices of the Executive Directors that
represent those countries.
The next step of the reform phase is
to agree on a simpler and more transparent quota formula,
to be followed by a further round of quota increases for
underrepresented economies. It was agreed that the reforms
will be completed by the 2008 Annual Meetings, with a
progress report presented at the Spring Meetings in April
2007 and with substantial agreement on the new quota
formula to be reached by the 2007 Annual Meetings.
Members also agreed on the
importance of ensuring that the selection of the Managing
Director is open and transparent. As part of the reform
package, the Executive Board will consider whether further
steps—beyond those followed for the selection of Managing
Director Rodrigo de Rato 2004—are needed to ensure a fully
transparent selection process.
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Report from the
International Monetary and Financial Committee
The International Monetary and
Financial Committee (IMFC)
communiqué, presented by IMFC Chairman Gordon Brown
and IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato at a
press conference on September 17 at the IMF-World Bank
Annual Meetings in Singapore, calls for quota reform and
addressing risks to the world economy, especially from
global imbalances. Brown also stressed that a successful
outcome of the Doha round of global trade negotiations is
critical to longer-term growth.
Brown said that the IMFC had met "at
a time of opportunity, with world growth strong," but also
at a "time of economic challenge," given downside risks
from the possibility of a continued buildup of
inflationary pressures, a slowdown in consumption in a
number of countries, continuing high and volatile energy
prices, and the spread of protectionism.
Brown warned against the danger of
protectionism in particular, noting that the stalling of
the Doha round is "the most worrying [development] for
world growth in the long-term." The IMFC heard a report
from Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the WTO, on the
status of the talks, and Brown said the committee was
united in expressing "its deep disappointment that the
trade negotiations have been suspended." The committee
thus called "for leadership from the major trading nations
to work urgently toward an early resumption of the
negotiations, and an ambitious, successful outcome by the
end of the year, based on a commitment to a comprehensive
package on agriculture, industrial products, and
services."
As a result of the meeting, however,
and based on what he had heard from various continents,
Brown said he is "more optimistic now that there is a way
forward, that there is a basis for a deal, that countries
are now seized of both the importance of a deal and the
urgency of achieving one…" He said that "the prospects of
such a deal are enhanced by the pledges of more than 4
billion dollars a year that have been made by the richest
countries to the developing world" in the context of
Aid-for-Trade framework.
Describing discussion on a
comprehensive two-year program of quota and voice reforms
(also see feature article)
submitted for the approval of the Board of Governors at
the Annual Meetings, which the IMFC endorsed, Brown said
this program would constitute the "biggest reform to the
governance of the IMF for 16 years." Starting with initial
quota increases for China, Korea, Mexico, and Turkey, it
would "make significant progress in realigning quota
shares with members' relative positions in the world
economy." The result of the Board of Governor's vote on
this issue was
announced on September 18. Members representing 90.6
percent of the total voting power cast votes in favor of
the Resolution. Votes of Governors exercising 85 percent
of the total voting power were required for adoption.
Brown also welcomed the steps taken
to strengthen crisis prevention through the new
multilateral surveillance mechanism. He noted that a
report on the first multilateral consultation would be
submitted to the April 2007 Meeting of the IMF, along with
suggestions on other issues to examine going forward, such
as the issue of financial stability. A country-by-country
analysis of the first and second round effects of oil and
energy price increases would also be part of ongoing work.
On other issues, the IMFC communiqué
also calls for:
- Enhancing the effectiveness of
the Fund's work in low-income countries by focusing on
sustainable growth and macro-critical areas that support
the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
In the context of progress on the
Multilateral Debt Relief (MDRI ) and
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiatives,
the IMFC also underscored the importance of helping
countries avoid a new buildup of unsustainable debt by
assessing the desirability of lending and borrowing
decisions in relation to the debt sustainability
framework.
- Further work on ways to enhance
collaboration between the IMF and the World Bank, taking
into account the work of an External Review Committee.
- Proposals for more predictable
and stable sources of IMF income, reflecting on the
recommendations of a Committee of Eminent Persons.
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To prepare for the Singapore Annual
Meetings, the IMF and the World Bank started working early
on with a planning group of about 30 Asian nongovernmental
organizations. The group met first in Singapore in March,
then in Tokyo in June, working closely with Fund and Bank
staff to prepare a series of events for the
Civil Society Policy Forum . The largest number ever
of civil society organizations (CSOs)—more than
500—applied for accreditation, and over 250 CSO
representatives attended. The focus of activity in
Singapore was the CSO Center, located in the lobby of the
SUNTEC Centre, where the Annual Meetings were held. The
Center provided meeting and work space for CSOs and was
the major venue for the Civil Society Policy Forum. The
forum's dialogues covered a wide range of low-income
issues. The full list of dialogues is available at
http://www.worldbank.org/civilsociety . As always,
various Fund staff participated in the sessions. The
highlight was the fourth annual CSO Townhall Meeting with
the heads of the institutions, Managing Director Rodrigo
de Rato, and World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz.
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CSO Townhall meeting
The Townhall (see
webcast and
transcript ; see also
transcripts of previous Townhall meetings) took place
against a background of tensions with the Singaporean
authorities over the admission of accredited civil society
representatives to the country to attend the Annual
Meetings. The meeting was moderated by Paul O'Callaghan,
the head of the Australian Council for International
Development, whose member agencies are active in 120
developing countries.
De Rato thanked the attendees, and
said that he wanted "once again to express our view that
the work of the civil society organizations with us is
essential for the quality of what we are supposed to
deliver to the member countries, which in the case of the
Fund, is macroeconomic and financial stability." He noted
that the Fund's involvement and consultation with CSOs had
become deeper, and took place all year long, not just on
the occasion of the Annual and Spring Meetings. "We
believe this is a very important tool to measure the
efficiency and the quality of our work, but also is
another step in the direction of good governance of a
public international institution that delivers public
goods."
Questions from CSOs included the
Singapore ban on a number accredited CSOs; voice and
representation for poor countries; corruption; the
challenge of meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals
in Africa; job creation; and conditionality on loan
programs.
Other Meetings
- Managing Director de Rato and
World Bank President Wolfowitz made a
surprise appearance at an introductory briefing for
CSOs on September 14, and stated their concern that some
accredited individuals were not being allowed entry into
Singapore. Questions from CSOs ranged from the
accreditation issue to other topics.
- On September 14, Mark Plant,
Senior Advisor in the IMF's Policy Development and
Review Department (PDR), gave an
overview of the recent work and papers on the role
of the Fund in low-income countries (LICs). His
presentation built on a
speech that IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato
delivered in late July.
- On September 14, Wanda Tseng,
Deputy Director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department
(APD),
reviewed recent performance of LICs in Asia and
discussed how the Fund is trying to help the those
countries accelerate their economic development. While
the Asia and Pacific region is the most economically
dynamic in the world, it is home to some of the poorest
countries as well, she said. Helping these countries
adjust to the new demands of globalization and
accelerate the process of poverty reduction is an
important priority for the Fund.
- On September 15, Akira Ariyoshi,
Director of the IMF's Tokyo-based Office in Asia and the
Pacific (OAP), and Matthew Fisher, PDR Senior Advisor,
participated in the 4th Regional Dialogue between the
IMF and the International Confederation of Free Trade
Union's Asian and Pacific Regional Organization
(ICFTU-APRO). The Asian Development Bank was also
represented. The meeting had two sessions, one on Labor
Market Policies of the international financial
institutions (IFI), and the second on Core Labor
Standards. Two main issues discussed were how to
minimize the short-term costs of reforms that are
necessary for medium-term economic sustainability and
growth, and how to ensure that growth is pursued as a
path to poverty reduction and job creation.
- In a September 16 meeting, Tseng
presented the findings of a chapter of the IMF's
Asia-Pacific Regional Economic Outlook on the causes of
rising income inequality and social polarization, and
discussed some possible policy implications. Explaining
that the rising inequality and polarization in recent
years came after an extended period in which emerging
Asia experienced rapid growth and increased equality,
she pointed out that the current trends are a matter of
concern, because rising inequality makes it more
difficult to reduce poverty. There is also evidence
linking large income disparities to lower growth and
higher macroeconomic volatility, and resistance to
reforms and change.
- A panel discussion on "The Future
of IFI Policies in Asia," organized by ICFTU-APRO and
Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung-Office for Regional
Co-operation in Southeast Asia, took place on September
17, at the Singapore National Trades Union Congress
(NTUC)-Centre. Wanda Tseng represented the IMF. Other
speakers included Frank Schröder, Senior Economist, FES
New York (moderator); Ruben Cortina, ICFTU-ORIT,
Argentina; Martin Khor, Third World Network, Malaysia;
Benu Schneider, Senior Officer, Financing for
Development Office, UN-DESA; and Filomeno Sta. Ana III,
Action for Economic Reforms, Philippines.
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The Singapore Annual Meetings were
exceptional from a civil society perspective for many
reasons. The IMF and World Bank accredited the largest
number of representatives ever, and there was broad
engagement in a process of consultation with Asian CSOs to
prepare the civil society forum. But, of course, Singapore
will be remembered for the controversy surrounding the
government's banning of a number of CSOs' legitimately
accredited representatives The institutions
publicly asked the host government to allow all CSO
participants to attend the Meetings. Both IMF Managing
Director Rodrigo de Rato and World Bank President Paul
Wolfowitz urged that all CSOs be allowed to attend
because, as they put it, it was critical for the
institutions to have the voices of dissent present at the
Meetings. The institutions were very disturbed that a
number of CSO delegates were detained for questioning upon
entering Singapore or, in some cases, deported. IMF and
World Bank staff worked hard to resolve the issue.
When the Singaporean government
decided to take most names off the list, it was recognized
that this was a positive step, but many CSOs felt the
action was too little, too late. The boycott that many
CSOs had called for when the news of the bannings broke,
stayed in place, and many CSO Forum events were cancelled.
Many of the CSOs said they understood the difficulties
that the Fund and Bank faced, and they said they
appreciated the efforts of the IMF and World Bank
management to ensure full participation by civil society
groups. As de Rato said at a meeting with CSOs on
September 14 and again the following day at the
CSO Townhall Meeting, the Fund values its dialogue
with civil society, including critical voices. There is a
place for dissent at the Annual Meetings—and the IMF and
World Bank made this point very clearly to the host
government.
CSO reactions to the ban varied. Many of the Asian NGOs
felt the Annual Meetings were still an important
opportunity to engage with the Fund and the Bank. They
decided to make the best of the situation and hold all
their events as planned. Other groups did boycott the
Forum—even though some acknowledged that the bannings were
the Singapore government's decision. Still, more than 250
representatives picked up their badges, and even those who
boycotted came to the CSO room and used the facilities
that the Bank and Fund provided for them. Many interacted
with IMF and Bank staff on an informal basis.
Another difficult issue was that the
Singaporean government did not allow CSOs to demonstrate
in the streets outside the conference center. The Fund and
the Bank had discussed this at length with the Singaporean
government in the months leading up to the Meetings.
However, the government refused to change its laws to
permit public protests outdoors. It only offered to create
a space inside the conference center for registered
protests. While the majority of CSOs did not like this
solution, they accepted it and even used the space to
stage stunts (see
photos here).
Even though it is too early to say
what the banning incident means for the Bretton Woods
Institutions' relationship with CSOs going forward, it is
clear is that the institutions need to make an extra
effort to ensure that they can fully participate in the
Annual Meetings—both by creating physical space at the
Meetings and by ensuring that there are no obstacles to
their attendance. What was confirmed (if there ever was a
need) in Singapore is that the many voices of civil
society need to be heard at the Annual and Spring
Meetings.
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The use of resources freed up by MDRI relief–Part 2
In the August 2006 Civil Society
Newsletter, we
reported on how the money freed up by the
Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) is being
used in most of the African recipient countries. In this
edition, we follow up with a summary of the use of MDRI
resources in some of the other countries that have
benefited from debt relief.
Cambodia: Debt
relief is not a major component of the country's foreign
aid. Nonetheless, the Cambodian
authorities warmly welcomed the MDRI resources from the
Fund of about US$82 million. The resources were
transferred to the government budget in 2006 and will be
used to finance additional public spending on poverty
reduction over a number of years beginning in 2007. The
first project to be financed is a $33 million investment
in small-scale rural irrigation, with initial 2007
expenditure of around $16 million. The authorities are
committed to using the resources freed up by MDRI debt
relief in a transparent manner and intend to show in
budget documents that the direct use of these funds adds
to overall poverty-reducing spending.
Guyana: Total debt
relief provided under the MDRI (in addition to that
already provided under the HIPC initiative) amount to US$
235 million, of which US$45.6 million were provided by the
IMF and US$189.4 million by the World Bank's International
Development Association (IDA). Debt-service savings are
estimated to be US$8.5 million (or about 1 percent of GDP
per year) beginning in 2006. To accelerate the achievement
of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the
government's 2006 budget allocated the savings to
expenditures on rehabilitation of drainage and irrigation
infrastructure, farm to market roads (US$2.5 million),
maintenance of education and health facilities (US$2
million), and acquisition of materials and supplies for
education and health (US$4 million).
Honduras: As a
result of the MDRI, public sector debt is projected to
fall significantly, from 61 percent of GDP in 2005 to 40
percent at end-2006. Total MDRI debt relief amounted to
US$1.4 billion, of which $155 million came from the IMF
and $1.2 billion from IDA. The Honduran authorities have
indicated that they will use the additional resources
freed by debt relief to finance expanded social programs
that contribute to meeting the MDGs. In particular, Fund
MDRI debt relief would be allocated to eliminate annual
fees charged for primary education, which is expected to
increase enrollment from low-income families.
Mauritania: The
total debt relief provided under the MDRI (in addition to
that already provided under the HIPC initiative) amounted
to US$753 million, or about 35 percent of the projected
2006 (nonoil) GDP. In July 2006, the authorities adopted a
supplementary budget, which included the resources freed
up by the MDRI in mid-year, and provided for an increase
in spending on poverty reduction equivalent to about 1
percent of nonoil GDP. Investment expenditures account for
most of the additional allocations, including targeted
programs in support of the small-scale fishing industry,
infrastructure investments in poverty-stricken areas, and
construction of healthcare facilities. The
poverty-reduction strategy for 2007–2010 targets a
significant increase in spending for the poor and a
reduction in the difference in poverty rates between the
rural and the urban areas. The resources freed up by the
MDRI, together with other funds that will be mobilized in
support of this strategy—notably, the revenue from oil
exports and concessional foreign financing—will be used to
finance the physical and human capital investment needed
to achieve these goals.
Nicaragua:
Debt-service savings as a result of MDRI will be about 0.2
percent of GDP (US$12 million) per year beginning in 2006.
To accelerate the achievement of the MDGs, the
government's 2006 budget allocated the savings to spending
on medicine and educational materials (60 percent of
total), the water sector (25 percent), and on low-income
housing (25 percent).
Tajikistan:
Tajikistan received IMF debt relief under the MDRI in the
amount of US$99 million, which is equivalent to about
3.8 percent of GDP. The authorities have included the
equivalent of 0.5 percent of GDP in MDRI-freed resources
in their draft 2007 budget. The MDRI funds will be used to
finance higher transfers to the poor (including to
compensate for a forthcoming adjustment in electricity
tariffs), to support wage decompression in the public
sector, and to augment non-wage spending in the education
and health sectors. Public expenditure management systems
are currently being strengthened to better account for the
use of MDRI and other budgetary resources, including
through improved reporting and oversight procedures.
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Roundtable discussion with CSOs on
Public Financial Management Reform
John G. Nelmes, IMF Resident Representative, Phnom
Penh, Cambodia
As part of the Resident
Representative's office's regular outreach activities, we
held another of our ongoing IMF–NGO roundtable discussions
on October 20, 2006, to exchange views with civil society
organizations (CSOs). The meeting took place against the
backdrop of CSOs' recent expression of interest in joining
discussions organized by the Public Financial Management
Reform's Technical Working Group. Participants included
World Vision Cambodia, NGO Forum on Cambodia, ActionAid
International, Economic Institute of Cambodia, MEDICAM,
Womyns Agenda for Change, and NGO Education Partnership.
Opening the roundtable, I described
the economic surveillance process (Article IV
consultation), and encouraged CSOs to read the
July 2006 Staff Report . I briefly described recent
developments in the government's economic reform program
that could be financially supported by the IMF through the
Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), and gave an
overview of the IMF technical assistance to Cambodia. I
noted that in addition to staff visits, the IMF in recent
years has provided a significant amount of technical
assistance to Cambodia to support the government's public
financial management reform program (PFMRP). Partly as a
result, progress has been made in enhancing revenue
administration, a key element of fiscal sustainability and
a tool for poverty alleviation. Moreover, improving budget
management has been supported by the newly established
chart of accounts. Once fully implemented, this will help
enhance effective and efficient use and reporting of
public resources. Despite the gains, further revenue
improvement remains an immediate challenge. Higher
government revenue is necessary to finance much-needed
increases in capital spending to improve the country's
infrastructure and to raise social spending—including in
particular on health and education—to strengthen
Cambodia's human capacity and enable it to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals.
Expressing their appreciation to the
Fund for the meeting, CSO representatives explained that
their interest in having a complementary role in
monitoring public finances was prompted by a need to
promote transparency and accountability. By joining the
discussions, CSOs would be able to help assess the impact
of social spending on such services as schools and health
centers, as well as poverty as a whole. This would promote
the effectiveness of the public financial management
reform's measures. CSOs expressed a particular concern
that a number of key social indicators had not improved as
hoped, and pointed to the problem of corruption and
governance concerns as a contributing factor. More often
than not, they explained, social sector ministries and
implementing agencies face leakages and red tape,
resulting from the imposition of multiple and superfluous
rules and regulations. These factors lead to a
deterioration in the quality and availability of public
services. Streamlining budget disbursement and expenditure
control processes, and decentralizing control and
responsibility to local authorities, supported by
merit-based pay systems, would help to eliminate budget
disbursement delays and improve budget managers'
accountability.
I agreed that weak governance is a
key challenge that needs to be addressed. Many of the
issues mentioned have also been the focus of the Fund's
policy advice in the context of PFMRP. The IMF will
shortly provide technical assistance to the government to
strengthen the identification and tracking of
poverty-reducing expenditures. The aim is to strengthen
budget accountability and improve the ability to analyze
the impact of social spending on poverty reduction.
However, the success of the reforms depends critically on
the ownership and commitment of the government of
Cambodia. As Development Partners' Alternate Lead
Coordinator of the PFMRP's technical working group, I said
the Fund welcomed the proposal by civil society to join
the discussions. The request has already been forwarded by
the Development Partner Committee to the government's
Reform Secretariat Committee for consent.
Finally, I agreed to participate in
any forums organized by CSOs, and to offer views on issues
within the Fund's mandate. I also encouraged the
participants to learn more about the Fund's activities and
research papers by visiting its website, and its
newly-established depository library located at the
Cambodia Development Resource Institute.
IMF Resident Representative Office in Cambodia website
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Gaston Gelos, the IMF
Resident Representative in Uruguay, visited a
slum area in Montevideo on September 1, and was greeted
warmly. Accompanied by representatives of the charity Un
Techo para mi País (A Roof for My Country), Gelos toured
the neighborhood and talked with residents about their
living conditions and the challenges they face. Gelos's
visit was prompted by the
IMF Civic Program's US$6,000 contribution to the
charity, which constructs basic housing for needy families
in Montevideo's slums and elsewhere in Latin America. The
September tour marked Gelos's first contact with Un Techo
para mi País--as well as his first exposure to the
impoverished areas of Uruguay's capital.
Media interest in Gelos's gesture
was unexpectedly strong. The story ended up on television,
on the front page of a major Uruguayan newspaper, and
elsewhere in the local press. Many local people praised
the effort. In a country where the Fund is still viewed
with some skepticism, this is an encouraging development.
For Gelos, the experience added an important dimension to
his work in the country. "Resident Representatives should
try to understand what's going on in the country at
various levels," he said. "I want to stay in touch with
this NGO and see how its initiatives are moving ahead."
In Nicaragua,
IMF Resident Representative Humberto Arbulu-Neira
had a similarly positive experience. Charged with
delivering $1,100 from the IMF Civic Program to
ACOEN-ITAE, a charity in southern Nicaragua, Arbulu-Neira
found himself witnessing firsthand the poverty that the
Fund is working to combat. ACOEN-ITAE provides training in
basic skills such as sewing and cooking to women--often
single mothers--with the aim of helping them gain
financial independence. "It is amazing how much this
organization is doing with so little money," he said.
He also visited the San Francisco de
Assis Association, an organization that provides health
services to low-income people in Managua, the country's
capital. The association recently received a $6,000 grant
from the IMF Civic Program. Arbulu-Neira and his wife were
so impressed with this association's work that they have
decided to continue to be involved in a personal capacity.
The Fund's philanthropic donations
help to improve the Fund's image in these countries, both
resident representatives say. But also important, said
Arbulu-Neira, is the impact of this outreach on the Fund
staffers themselves. "These programs bring out the human
face of poverty," he said, "which is something we don't
see when we look at figures."
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- On August 15, Andy Berg of the
Policy Development and Review Department (PDR)
participated in the panel discussion "Access to AIDS
Resources: Making Macro-Economic Policies Work" at the
United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) 16th
International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada.
Panelists included Robert Greener of the Joint United
Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS); Leonard Okello
of ActionAid International; John Kagimwi of the National
AIDS Council in Kenya; and co-chairs Elhadj Sy of UNDP
HIV/AIDS Group and Alan Whiteside of the University of
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Berg talked about the
Fund's call for more aid and the effective use of
external and internal resources to help respond to the
AIDS/HIV epidemic while fostering sustainable growth.
- Vitali Kramarenko of the Middle
East and Central Asia Department (MCD) met with Heike
Mainhardt-Gibbs and George Holliday of the Bank
Information Center (BIC) on August 28, to discuss the
BIC paper "Azerbaijan's Continued Struggle with Poverty
and Oil Dependence: Concerns surrounding a Decade of IFI
Lending." The paper examines lending by international
financial institutions (IFI), examining whether they are
in line with the goal of economic diversification in
Azerbaijan.
- On August 31, PDR's Hans Peter
Lankes and Charleen Gust, and World Bank staff met with
Emily Alpert of Oxfam America; Aldo Caliari of the
Center of Concern; Viji Rangaswami of the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace; Robin Robison of
Quaker Peace and Social Witness; Liane Schalatek of the
Heinrich Böll Foundation; and John Sewell of the Woodrow
Wilson International Center for Scholars. The briefing
focused on the policy options outlined in a paper on the
"Doha
Development Agenda and Aid for Trade".
- On September 5, Simonetta Nardin
and Jenny Bisping of the External Relations Department
(EXR) met with representatives of ActionAid
International: Specioza N. Kiwanuka from Uganda; Raphael
Yves Pierre from Haiti; Tasleem Mazkar from Pakistan;
Patrick Watt from the United Kingdom; Tennyson Williams
from Sierra Leone; and Rick Rowden from the U.S. to
discuss IMF relations with CSOs.
- On September 5-6, Robin Robison
from London-based Quaker Peace and Social Witness,
visited Fund staff for meetings on Uganda, Nicaragua,
and on Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA).
Robison met with the African Department's (AFR) Uganda
team for a discussion of economic development in the
conflict-ridden northern region of Uganda. He also met
with the Western Hemisphere Department's (WHD) Nicaragua
mission chief, Vikram Haksar, for an update on
Nicaragua's economic situation. Haksar advised CSOs to
focus on the issue of transfers to universities and the
judiciary instead of domestic debt. Robison concluded
with a meeting with Robert Gillingham to discuss the
work of the PSIA group.
- On September 21, Human Right's
Watch's (HRW) Julianne Kippenberg and Arvind Ganesan met
jointly with AFR's Burundi mission team and the World
Bank's country team to discuss the HRW's recent report
"A High Price to Pay: Detention of Poor Patients in
Hospitals." The meeting served as an opportunity to
outline Fund and Bank program design, conditionality,
and the need for greater fiscal transparency in the
health sector.
- Athanasios Vamvakidis of the
European Department (EUR) participated in the Meeting of
Southeast European Parliamentarians Conference organized
by the Parliamentary Network of the World Bank and the
Greek Parliament in Athens on September 29-30.
Vamvakidis participated in two workshops, "Good
Governance and Doing Business in the Balkans" and "Trade
and Transport Facilitation in Southeast Europe."
- EXR's Sofia Soromenho-Ramos
attended the Founding Congress of the International
Trade Union Confederation in Vienna on November 1-3. The
launch of the ITUC followed the dissolution of the two
largest global union federations, the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World
Confederation of Labor. The event served as an
opportunity to meet with delegates from several
countries to discuss the ongoing dialogue between the
IMF and trade unions.
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- The IMF-World Bank High-Level
Biennial Meetings with Labor Unions will be held on
December 11-13. The meetings will bring approximately 60
trade union leaders to Washington to discuss the IMF and
World Bank's current programs and labor issues.
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- The IMF is calling for
public comment on the proposed revised
Code of Good Practices and Fiscal Transparency
together with a
six-question survey by November 17. The four core
principles of the original Code remain
unchanged in the revision: institutional clarity, open
budget processes, public information, and integrity.
However, the document has been updated and broadened to
reflect recent developments and practices. It intends to
lead to better-informed public debate about the design
and results of fiscal policy, make governments more
accountable for the implementation of fiscal policy, and
thereby strengthen credibility and public understanding
of economic policies and choices to promote good
governance. To provide your comments, please complete
the questionnaire electronically and return it by email
to
fiscaltransparency@imf.org by November 17, 2006. If
you are unable to complete the survey electronically,
please feel free to fax it to: +01 (202) 589-6956.
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- On October 23, Managing Director
Rodrigo de Rato
proposed the appointment of Murilo Portugal, a
Brazilian national, as Deputy Managing Director of the
IMF. Portugal, 58, served as Deputy Finance Minister of
Brazil from 2005-2006, Executive Director to the IMF
from 1998-2005, and as Executive Director at the World
Bank Group from 1996-2000. Portugal will succeed
Agustín Carstens, who left the Fund in early October
to accept an appointment in Mexico to President-elect
Felipe Calderon's transition team. Portugal has also
held other positions in Brazil, including Secretary of
the National Treasury and in the Office of President,
and at the Finance and Planning Ministries. Portugal
holds a law and economics degree from the Universidade
Federal Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro and the
universities of Cambridge and Manchester in the United
Kingdom.
- On August 22, Raghuram Rajan, the
IMF's Economic Counselor and Director of the Research
Department, notified Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato
of his intention to return to his professorship at the
Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago
by early 2007. A successor has not yet been named.
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-
Remarks by Rodrigo de Rato, Chairman of the
Executive Board and Managing Director of the IMF, to the
Board of Governors of the IMF at the 2006 Annual
Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group, Singapore,
September 19, 2006.
-
An Enduring Need: The Importance of Multilateralism in
the 21st Century, Remarks by Anne O. Krueger,
Special Advisor to the Managing Director, Singapore,
September 19, 2006.
-
Strengthening IMF Surveillance: What Have We Learned
from Independent Evaluations? By Agustín Carstens,
Deputy Managing Director, IEO Seminar—Singapore 2006
Annual Meetings, September 18, 2006.
-
Remarks at Bretton Woods Committee Annual International
Council Meeting, by Agustín Carstens, Deputy
Managing Director, Mandarin Oriental Hotel—Atrium Suite,
Singapore, September 18, 2006.
-
Statement on the Occasion of the General Assembly
Meeting on Least Developed Countries by Rodrigo de
Rato, Managing Director, at the United Nations General
Assembly Meeting, New York, September 18, 2006.
-
The Reform Process at the International Monetary Fund,
by John Lipsky, First Deputy Managing Director, Xianghe,
People's Republic of China, September 13, 2006.
-
Prospects for the World Economy, by Rodrigo de Rato,
Managing Director, at OPEC's Third Annual Conference,
Vienna, Austria, September 12, 2006.
-
Meeting the Challenges of 21st Century Globalization:
The Medium-Term Strategy of the IMF, by Rodrigo de
Rato, Managing Director, at Spruce Meadows Roundtable,
Calgary, Canada, September 8, 2006.
-
Key Steps in IMF Reform: Taking Stock on the Eve of the
Annual Meetings in Singapore, by Rodrigo de Rato,
Managing Director, at the Brookings Institution,
September 5, 2006.
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Contents
-
Doha Development Agenda and Aid for Trade, prepared
by the Staffs of the IMF and World Bank.
-
Report of the Managing Director to the International
Monetary and Financial Committee on the IMF's Policy
Agenda .
-
Report of the Managing Director to the International
Monetary and Financial Committee on IMF Quota and Voice
Reform .
-
Quotas - Updated Calculations, prepared by the
Finance Department.
-
IMF World Economic Outlook: Financial Systems and
Economic Cycles .
-
Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries - Issues
Related to the Sunset Clause
-
Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) - Status
of Implementation, prepared by the Staffs of IDA and
IMF.
-
Consideration of a New Liquidity Instrument for Market
Access Countries, prepared by the Policy Development
and Review Department.
-
Independent Evaluation Office - Progress Report to the
International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC)
.
-
Communiqué of the International Monetary and Financial
Committee of the Board of Governors of the International
Monetary Fund .
-
The Managing Director's Statement to the Development
Committee .
-
Development Committee Communiqué .
-
Draft Revised Code of Good Practices on Fiscal
Transparency
-
Report of the Executive Board to the Board of Governors
Quota and Voice Reform in the International Monetary
Fund.
-
Article IV of the Fund's Articles of Agreement - An
Overview of the Legal Framework, prepared by the
Legal Department.
-
Review of Ex Post Assessments and Issues Relating to the
Policy on Longer-Term Program Engagement, prepared
by the Policy Development and Review Department.
-
Precautionary Arrangements - Purposes and Performance,
prepared by the Policy Development and Review
Department.
-
Cross-Country Experience with Restructuring of Sovereign
Debt and Restoring Debt Sustainability, prepared by
the Policy Development and Review Department.
-
Exchange Rates and Trade Balance Adjustment in Emerging
Market Economies, prepared by the Policy Development
and Review Department.
-
How Does the Global Economic Environment Influence the
Demand for IMF Resources, by Selim Elekdag, Research
Department, Working Paper No. 06/239.
-
Revenue Authorities: Issues and Problems in Evaluating
Their Success, by Maureen Kidd and Joseph William,
Fiscal Affairs Department, Working Paper No. 06/240.
-
Gender and Its Relevance to Macroeconomic Policy: A
Survey, by Janet Stotsky, African Department,
Working Paper No. 06/233.
-
Gender Budgeting, by Janet Stotsky, African
Department, Working Paper No. 06/232.
-
Trade Issues in the Doha Round: Dispelling Some
Misconceptions, by Stephen Tokarick, Research
Department, Policy Discussion Paper 06/4.
-
Financial Globalization: A Reappraisal, by Ayhan M.
Kose, Eswar Prasad, Shang-Jin Wei, Research Department,
Kenneth Rogoff, Working Paper No. 06/189.
-
Indirect Taxes on International Aviation, by Michael
Keen and Jon Strand, Fiscal Affairs Department, Working
Paper No. 06/124.