Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

In fact, the answer is clearly an unqualified “no.” This is fake good news. The countries of sub-Saharan Africa were grouped into two groups (except for Ghana, which was in a third group) which had a total voting share Share A unit of ownership interest in a corporation or financial asset, representing one part of the total capital stock. Its owner (a shareholder) is entitled to receive an equal distribution of any profits distributed (a dividend) and to attend shareholder meetings. of 4.63%. Now they are spread out in three groups instead of two and have 4.61% of voting rights. So, in terms of voting share within the IMF IMF
International Monetary Fund Along with the World Bank, the IMF was founded on the day the Bretton Woods Agreements were signed. Its first mission was to support the new system of standard exchange rates.

When the Bretton Wood fixed rates system came to an end in 1971, the main function of the IMF became that of being both policeman and fireman for global capital: it acts as policeman when it enforces its Structural Adjustment Policies and as fireman when it steps in to help out governments in risk of defaulting on debt repayments.

As for the World Bank, a weighted voting system operates: depending on the amount paid as contribution by each member state. 85% of the votes is required to modify the IMF Charter (which means that the USA with 17,68% % of the votes has a de facto veto on any change).

The institution is dominated by five countries: the United States (16,74%), Japan (6,23%), Germany (5,81%), France (4,29%) and the UK (4,29%).
The other 183 member countries are divided into groups led by one country. The most important one (6,57% of the votes) is led by Belgium. The least important group of countries (1,55% of the votes) is led by Gabon and brings together African countries.

http://imf.org directorate, not only has Africa’s weight not increased, it has even slightly decreased.

Before the creation of the new position, the group chaired by Tanzania included 23 countries and had a 3.02% voting share. The group led by Congo Brazzaville included 23 countries and had a 1.61% voting share. That adds up to a total of a 4.63% share of voting rights in the IMF.

Now, the group led by Mozambique includes 14 countries for a 1.83% voting share, the group led by Ivory Coast comprises 14 countries for a 1.40% share, and the group chaired by Congo includes 17 countries for a 1.40% share. That adds up to a total of a 4.61% voting share.

The USA by itself is entitled to an Executive Director who controls a 16.49% share of voting rights – keeping in mind that important votes require an 85% majority. This means that the USA is the only country that has veto power.

France, for example, with its 4.03% voting share, has only slightly less voting power than all the countries of sub-Saharan Africa together.

Germany, by itself, has a 5.31% voting share, which is significantly more than all countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

Each Executive Director who represents a group of African countries speaks for some fifteen countries. This means that he or she will attempt to bring those countries into agreement around a shared position… whereas the USA, by itself, has an Executive Director who needs no consensus with any other country. The same is true of France, Germany, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, as well as Russia (who also votes for Syria) and China.

When an African representative speaks, the American or French representative who is listening thinks: “This African representative only accounts for 1.4% of the vote, which is of no consequence.” And even if that representative is able to reach a consensus with the two other African Executive Directors, together they have only a 4.61% voting share, which is less than that of Germany alone. Thus Africa has absolutely no influence.

Distribution of voting rights among IMF board members, November 2024

Source: IMF [1]

Voting rights of certain IMF Executive Directors compared to the population of the countries he or she represents

Source: IMF; United Nations

Keep in mind that since the founding of the International Monetary Fund, its director has always been a European, just as since its founding, the World Bank World Bank
WB The World Bank was founded as part of the new international monetary system set up at Bretton Woods in 1944. Its capital is provided by member states’ contributions and loans on the international money markets. It financed public and private projects in Third World and East European countries.

It consists of several closely associated institutions, among which :

1. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, 189 members in 2017), which provides loans in productive sectors such as farming or energy ;

2. The International Development Association (IDA, 159 members in 1997), which provides less advanced countries with long-term loans (35-40 years) at very low interest (1%) ;

3. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which provides both loan and equity finance for business ventures in developing countries.

As Third World Debt gets worse, the World Bank (along with the IMF) tends to adopt a macro-economic perspective. For instance, it enforces adjustment policies that are intended to balance heavily indebted countries’ payments. The World Bank advises those countries that have to undergo the IMF’s therapy on such matters as how to reduce budget deficits, round up savings, enduce foreign investors to settle within their borders, or free prices and exchange rates.

’s director has always been a male citizen of the USA, appointed by the US president. In other words, a representative of the Global South has never headed the IMF or the World Bank.

Also, keep in mind that the Executive Directors who represent Africa and other countries of the South are individuals who have been totally formatted in the spirit of the IMF or the World Bank. They are programmed with the “neoliberal policies, privatizations, opening markets” mindset. Therefore one more African who thinks exactly like all the others and is programmed just like all the others does not constitute progress for the people of Africa.

What also needs to be kept in mind is that two very important countries of sub-Saharan Africa lost a significant share of their voting rights in the preceding reform of 2010, which took effect starting in 2016: South Africa lost 21% of its voting share and Nigeria 41% (see Patrick Bond Bond A bond is a stake in a debt issued by a company or governmental body. The holder of the bond, the creditor, is entitled to interest and reimbursement of the principal. If the company is listed, the holder can also sell the bond on a stock-exchange. , The BRICS New Development Bank & Sub-Imperialism: Working within, not against, global financial power ).

It should also be pointed out that the “programmed” African representatives have never proposed an African candidate as Managing Director of the IMF.

In conclusion, for the CADTM, the changes within the IMF are purely cosmetic and are meant to give the impression that democratization is underway, whereas in fact, that is absolutely not the case. The IMF is a totally anti-democratic entity that exercises what can be called despotic power as a preferred creditor because it systematically imposes conditionalities when a country comes to it for a loan. That has just happened in 2024 with the unpopular measures the IMF attempted to impose on Kenya and Nigeria, with the complicity of the local governments. They triggered popular revolts in the two countries that were violently repressed (60 dead in Kenya and a number of people imprisoned in Nigeria). In Kenya’s case, fortunately, discontent was such that certain measures demanded by the IMF were abandoned. This shows that the IMF has in fact not changed its policies of aggression against the interest Interest An amount paid in remuneration of an investment or received by a lender. Interest is calculated on the amount of the capital invested or borrowed, the duration of the operation and the rate that has been set. of the people. The IMF is not in fact becoming democratized. Therefore in the CADTM’s view it should be dissolved and replaced by a new, multilateral entity, which could be called the International Monetary Fund, but with different statutes, and in particular truly democratic operating rules. One of its goals would be to collect international taxes on major transnational corporations. One of its functions would be to struggle against tax havens and effectively provide monetary stability and full employment.

The author would like to thank Claude Quémar and Maxime Perriot for their proofreading.

Translated by Snake Arbusto