Finance

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.

15 September 1999

Conditionality

News

PNG Government avoids conditionality

Relations between the Bank and the government of Papua New Guinea were strained in July by the government’s decision to issue bonds to raise money from the private sector.

15 September 1999

Conditionality

News

Strikers in Colombia in protest at IMF and debt

In late August Colombian labour unions began an indefinite national strike in protest at the government’s political, social, and economic agenda and calling on the government to declare a moratorium on the payment of its internal and external debt.

15 September 1999

Finance

News

Africans to challenge Washington Consensus

African NGOs met in Nairobi in August to discuss and formulate an Africa Consensus on economic and social development to challenge the Washington Consensus.

15 September 1999

Accountability

News

Politics before good policies in Zimbabwe

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.

15 September 1999

Conditionality

News

Initiative changes

The G7 have agreed changes to the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Debt Initiative which will impose more conditionality in return for earlier relief from interest payments.

15 June 1999

Finance

News

ESAF reforms to focus on poverty eradication

Clare Short, UK Secretary of State for International Development, has called in parliament for the reform of the IMF’s ESAF loans to make them pro-poor.

15 June 1999

Finance

News

G7 agree crisis mechanisms

G7 finance ministers have agreed a framework to include the private sector in future crisis bailouts.

15 June 1999

Accountability

News

Curbing corruption

IMF policies have exacerbated corruption according to a Christian Aid briefing on new approaches to debt relief.

15 June 1999

Finance

Analysis

Assessing Assessing Aid

A discussion and critique of the main points in a prominent World Bank report on aid policy and conditionality - “Assessing Aid, What Works, What Doesn’t and Why”. The Bank’s report is very frank about the many failures of aid financing, but its proposals of targeting finance to good performing countries are controversial (1999).

15 January 1999 | Briefings