The IMF has agreed to lend US$7.32 bn to the Zimbabwean government despite continued concerns about corruption in the land reform process; the cost of supporting Zimbabwean troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); a planned privatisation of the Hwange power plant; and the reintroduction of price controls.
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Rights
News
UK committee criticises Bank and Fund over conflict roles
The UK International Development Select Committee of MPs has criticised the IMF and Bank for failing to raise concerns with the Rwandan government about the discrimination and intimidation of Tutsis prior to the civil war.
WB/IMF roles
News
Bank to convene new public policy fora
The World Bank is considering setting up new fora to discuss issues of global importance which are not being effectively handled by existing national or international mechanisms.
WB/IMF roles
News
IMF mission creep
The IMF, which monitors all its members’ economies through its Article IV consultation process, is not content with monitoring the codes on fiscal policy, corporate governance and monetary policy.
Conditionality
News
The IMF’s ESAF: is it working?
In August the IMF produced a “question and answer” paper on its Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility.
IFI governance
News
Bank/Fund voting challenged
In late August India’s central bank chief told a meeting of bankers in Sri Lanka that the voting structure of international funding agencies should be changed to reflect the economic strengths of developing nations.
News
Monitoring the monitors
The external evaluation reports on the IMF's surveillance and research activities have been discussed by…
Conditionality
News
WB-IMF orthodoxy rivalled by Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), led by its new head Masaru Yoshitomi, has mounted an attack on the IMF’s use of conventional policies for dealing with the crisis in Asia and plans to hold meetings and seminars to challenge the IMF’s approach at the Bank/Fund annual meetings.
Finance
News
IMF policies fuel social crisis in Ecuador
In July, rising transport and fuel prices in Ecuador led to strikes and public protests, and an up-rising by thousands of indigenous people who are also concerned about privatisation plans.
Environment
News
The Bretton Woods Twins: Caught in Their Paradigm
The genesis and mandates of the Bretton Woods Institutions were very specific, intended to complement each other, and primarily economic in nature. They have not changed very much in the past 50 years even though the world has changed quite dramatically.
Environment
Analysis
World Bank and IMF: Dilemmas and Opportunities
Are the World Bank and IMF now taking environmental and social issues seriously?
Environment
Analysis
Questioning the World Bank/IMF Growth Model
Questioning the Growth Model was a meeting organised jointly by the Bretton Woods Project and…
Featured briefings
16 October 2024
The Bretton Woods Observer: Autumn 2024
16 October 2024
The lost call for international financial architecture reform in the G20
At the 80th anniversary of the World Bank and IMF, global civil society must maintain pressure on the Brazilian and South African G20 presidencies to ensure the forth Financing for Development Conference in 2025 results in urgently required international financial architecture reform.
1 October 2024