As IMF faces Structural Adjustment, Global South Activists Demand Accountability

Following the International Monetary Fund’s announcement of proposed staff cuts and sales of gold about $11 billion, civil society groups reacted with demands for further accountability.

“At long last, the IMF is experiencing first hand serious budget cuts,” said Cheikh Tidiane Dieye of Environment and Development in Africa (ENDA), based in Senegal. “The poetic justice of this is palpable. In Senegal, the IMF has mandated budget cuts for years. As a result, we have been unable to invest in health care, education and other essential services. If the IMF’s loss of financial power is accompanied by a loss in political power, this could be good news for all Africans.”

Others raised questions about whether or not the IMF’s financial crisis would lead to political changes at the institution.

“In Latin America, the IMF, the World Bank and other international financial institutions have wreaked havoc on our economies for decades,” said Norma Maldonado of the International Gender and Trade Network in Guatemala. “If this restructuring of the IMF means the preservation of the IMF, we are opposed to it. Sales of IMF gold should be used as restitution for previous crimes, including cancellation of illegitimate debts and reparations for ecological and social damages.”

Other campaigners raised concerns about proposed changes in voting representation at the IMF.

“The IMF is an irrelevant institution in Asia,” said Joseph Purugganan of Focus on the Global South in the Philippines. “Increasing the voting shares given to big countries like China and India will not do anything to increase its relevance. Instead, the IMF must give up its policy prescriptions including fiscal and trade liberalization, privatization, and budget austerity measures. It should also begin to make restitution for its crime of enforcing a failed development paradigm on the world for over 25 years.”

Article published by IFI Watchnet