>From the IMF website: "Voting power. The quota largely determines a member's voting power in IMF decisions. Each IMF member has 250 basic votes plus one additional vote for each SDR 100,000 of quota. Accordingly, the United States has 371,743 votes (16.77 percent of the total), and Palau has 281 votes (0.01 percent)."
source: "IMF Quotas - A Factsheet - February 2009" http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/quotas.htm Voting shares of the G7 countries: US 16.77 Japan 6.02 Germany 5.88 UK 4.86 France 4.86 Italy 3.19 Canada 2.89 G7 total 44.47 [That's why debt campaigners target the G7: it's a working majority of the voting shares at the IMF and the World Bank. The G7 is the executive committee of the IMF and the World Bank. Other countries can pound the table (but they don't, in general, unfortunately.) When the G7 have reached a decision, approval by the boards of the IMF and the World Bank is a formality. Arguably, a key purpose of the existence of the G20 is to obscure the above.] source: "IMF Members' Quotas and Voting Power, and IMF Board of Governors" Last Updated: March 04, 2009 http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/members.htm Eight countries have their own Executive Director on the IMF board: US, Japan, Germany, France, UK, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia. The following countries share one Executive Director: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia. source: "IMF Executive Directors and Voting Power" Last Updated: November 11, 2008 http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/eds.htm On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 3:00 AM, Patrick Bond <[email protected]> wrote: > (What a man: Dominique Strauss-Kahn last week annointed himself spokesperson > for 50 African countries at the G20! A strong critique, below, as he tries > some voice lessons today in Dar.) > > http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/events/2009/0303_imf/20090303_imf.pdf > > TALBOTT: a quick question to Managing Director Strauss-Kahn about the > upcoming G-20 meeting in London and including the meeting you’ll have in > Tanzania. As a tee-up for that meeting, how do you hope those two meetings > connect? What do you hope might come out of Tanzania that might then lead to > an effective gathering of the G-20 in London? > > MR. STRAUSS-KAHN: As you all know, the G-20 has existed for a long time at > the financial minister level, and since the meeting that took place here in > Washington on November 15, the meeting level has been enhanced to the level > of head-of-state in government, which means it is given more political > momentum. So we are having a preliminary meeting of the financial ministers > of the G-20 in mid-March, and then they expect a meeting of heads of state > at the beginning of April. The problem with the G-20 is that on the one > hand, it’s a good thing to have enlarged the G7 and G8 to emerging countries > and was long over due. And so the answer which has been given to us > certainly is the right answer. But when you have 20 countries in the room, > even if it’s the 20 countries with the biggest GDP, then if you refer to the > IMF membership of 185 members, then you have 165 countries out of the room. > And so the question of legitimacy of this body is obviously at stake, > especially the African countries. We presented in the board in time, but not > presented directly, but by South Africa in the G-20. But when you say > African countries are represented by South Africa, it’s already the > beginning of a problem. So those African countries fear rightly that a > decision could be made at the global level by a kind of governance body of > the world economies without their voice and their comments. So I think that > Goldman Braun, who is very carefully managing the G-20 meeting of April 2nd, > is trying to invite the African countries or maybe some others. That’s a > good thing. But on the other hand, the IMF can also play this role. We’re a > member of the G-20 and I feel, myself, as having a mandate from all of my > 165 members not being represented in the room. And so the Tanzanian > Conference will be a possibility to have a discussion with them, at least > the African part of them, to know what the expectation is looking forward to > this G-20 and what kind of message they want me to convey. So from this > point of view, the IMF can certainly be the spokesperson or the spoke > institution -- I don’t know if you would say this in English -- and let’s > say the spokesperson of African countries not being directly represented at > the G-20. > > *** > > CSO statement on IMF work on policy support Instrument to Tanzania > > Civil Society Groups Call for New, More Flexible Policies in Face of > Financial Crisis > > For Immediate Release; Monday 9th March 2009 Contact: > > Dr. Peter Bujari Semkae Kilonzo > > Executive Director Coordinator > > Human Development Trust - Dar Es Salaam Policy Forum - Dar Es Salaam > > Email: [email protected] [email protected] > > Phone: (O) +255 22 27 72 264, (M) +255 784 217127 Phone: (O) +255 22 > 2772611, (O) +255 782 317434 > > 9 March 2009 (Dar Es Salaam) – On the day before a high-level conference of > policymakers co-hosted by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and > International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, civil > society groups are calling for new and more flexible economic policies in > Tanzania and across the African region. In the midst of a global financial > crisis, developed-country governments are enacting bold, expansionary > stimulus policies in efforts to trigger growth and fight off recession. > Meanwhile, African governments, as part of their agreements with the IMF, > are holding onto tight policies that prevent stimulus and restrict options > for increasing public investment to meet basic human needs. > > As part of Tanzania’s agreement with the IMF, the government must aim to > shrink its budget deficit from 3.7% of Gross National Product in fiscal year > 2008/2009 to 3.1% of GNP in FY2009/2010. A January 2009 IMF review of the > agreement stated that any decrease in revenue—whether tax revenue, official > development assistance, or remittances from African Diaspora that might come > about in the wake of the financial crisis—should be met with “expenditure > restraint.” Furthermore, the agreement restricts the government from seeking > domestic sources of financing, and it aims to reduce inflation to 5% through > monetary policies that reduce economic activity, “including through rising > interest rates when necessary.”1 > > “These are the wrong policies at the wrong time,” said Dr. Peter Bujari; > Head of Human Development Trust and chair of Tanzania AIDS Forum. “Virtually > every government in the world that is operating independently of the IMF is > now stimulating its economy with expansionary economic policies. Tanzania’s > economy is not fully insulated from the current crisis. Why should it be > kept from pursuing the same policy options as other governments?” > > “President Kikwete and Mr. Strauss-Kahn have written that the conference > ‘will focus on how policy frameworks will need to change.’ We welcome > change, but the IMF agreement itself has us traveling down the same old > road, following the same restrictive policies as before—in some areas even > more strict-Belt tightening or growth without poverty reduction,” said > Semkai Kilonzo Coordinator for Policy Forum. “The IMF classifies Tanzania as > a ‘mature stabilizer.’ If we are mature and stable, then open the policy > space for us to chart our own shared economic path.” > > The conference, titled “Successful Partnership for Africa’s Growth > Challenge,” will take place 10-11 March in lead-up to an April meeting of > G20 leaders, hosted by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. In a speech last week > at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, Mr. Strauss-Kahn decried the > lack of African representation within the G20, but held he would attend the > meeting in part as the spokesperson for African countries. “With due > respect, given its policies and its lack of due African representation > within the institution, I do not need the IMF to speak for me or my country > on the global stage,” said Nosim Losai, Advocacy and Policy Manager for > Human Development Trust. > > We all together call for IMF policy change to allow policy autonomy and > investment in human needs. > > 1 IMF review of Tanzania’s Policy Support Instrument. International Monetary > Fund, 2009. > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- Robert Naiman Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org [email protected] _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
