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27/09/2008 Global NGO letters calling to end harmful IMF policies In advance of the upcoming annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank, two sign-on letters to the IMF’s Executive Board are circulating. We are requesting that you consider endorsing both letters. Although their purposes are similar, they are not identical. The deadline for signing-on to both is Sunday October 5. The first letter is available online on http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/editorsblog/uploads/GlobalLetterFINAL.oct08.doc
One letter was initiated by a coalition of US-based groups, is addressed to the IMF Board, but has an important secondary audience, the U.S. Congress, which will be a key player in the IMF’s bid to secure funding to continue operations now that it has acknowledged a serious financial crisis of its own. According to US law, congressional approval for the IMF’s plan to sell some of its gold reserves for this purpose is required before the IMF board plan can go into effect. The letter calls for an end to harmful policies supported by the IMF that prevent countries from scaling up investments in health and education before implementing the gold sale. Thus, this letter puts the IMF on notice regarding civil society’s agenda, and will be circulated widely among Members of Congress to encourage that body to condition approval of gold sales on serious reforms of the way the IMF does business. Members of Congress have indicated they want to see broad international support if they are to push for bold reforms at the IMF. Additional Sign-ons for this letter should go to Sarah Rimmington, Essential Action:
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by Sunday October 5, 2008. The other letter encourages Finance Ministers and the IMF Board to shut down the Poverty Reduction & Growth Facility (PRGF), the source of IMF loans to low-income countries. The letter suggests that the remaining funds be handed over to a more suitable institution providing finance to the countries eligible for the PRGF. This letter specifically targets the upcoming review of IMF lending instruments, the first opportunity in some time to get high-level officials on the record about the IMF’s main remaining avenue to push structural adjustment programs. The second letter is available on http://brettonwoodsproject.org/art.shtml?x=562405 Additional Sign-ons for this letter should go to Peter Chowla at:
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by Sunday October 5. Thank you for playing a part in these unique opportunities to change the IMF. Rick Rowden (
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