Parliamentarians call World Bank and IMF policies “unfair” and “ill-intentioned”

A 2011 survey conducted by the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), a permanent forum of 162 national parliaments, found that while 59 per cent of the developing country parliaments studied have the authority to ratify IFI loans, 71 per cent do not involve themselves in loan negotiations. At an assembly held in Kampala in early April, IPU delegates criticised World Bank and IMF policies for being “unfair, non-transparent and ill-intentioned,” and described how minimal parliamentary oversight hinders national ownership of development. According to Argentine senator Sonia Escuredo, the inherent inequalities of IFI governance prevent developing countries from fully appreciating the implications of such multilateral loans for state sovereignty.