IMF freezes second payment of $2.8 billion loan to Tunisia, demanding accelerated reform programme despite concerns this will push Tunisia “to the brink”.

IMF freezes second payment of $2.8 billion loan to Tunisia, demanding accelerated reform programme despite concerns this will push Tunisia “to the brink”.
After 4 years of on-off negotiation and public opposition, the government of Egypt has signed a loan deal with the IMF whose impacts civil society fears will encroach upon human rights, social protection and social provision, like health and education, upon which the poorest depend.
New IMF loan programme to Jordan agreed with gendered conditions, while civil society express concerns about human rights and impacts on the lives of women.
Notes from a meeting at the IMF/World Bank CSO Forum at the 2016 Spring meetings, evaluating how well the World Bank and IMF have done on respecting the country ownership principle ten years after its international acceptance.
IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office has found the Fund’s 2010/2011 Troika lending to Greece, Ireland and Portugal fell short in terms of surveillance, design, implementation and decision making, and described controversial decisions as appearing “rubber-stamped”.
As the world economy continues to stutter, many sub-Saharan African countries are turning to the Fund for financial support, though the Funds are coming with strict conditions to restrict spending.
In-house IMF magazine article provokes worldwide reaction as it questions IMF’s policy assumptions on austerity, capital controls and ‘neoliberalism’ itself; but Fund backtracks following media criticism
The IMF has changed its long-standing rule on lending to countries in arrears to official creditors, thereby avoiding having to cancel its $17.5 billion loan programme to Ukraine.
As the IMF initiates negotiations with Tunisia, concerns have been expressed that renewed reforms will not be inclusive or target deep-seated economic and social issues.
BWP report finds few signs of IMF policy-change in the MENA region post 2011.