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STORY: IMF / EBOLA GOVERNANCE REFORM
TRT: 2.08
SOURCE: IMF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 13 NOVEMBER 2014, WASHINGTON, DC / RECENT
RECENT – WASHINGTON,DC
1. Wide shot, exterior IMF building}
13 NOVEMBER 2014, WASHINGTON, DC
2. SOUNDBITE: (English), Bill Murray, IMF Deputy Spokesperson:
“We are very glad that some donors have expressed the interest in increasing support for the Ebola-affected countries. We are reaching out to all donors to see how we might be able to take this forward together with our Executive Board, using all the tools available to us. This would be additional to the 130 million dollars immediate support from the IMF that has already been provided interest free to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.”
3. Med shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE: (English), Bill Murray, IMF Deputy Spokesperson:
“The IMF staff’s previous projections were assuming that the epidemic would be brought under control by the first quarter of 2015. However it now appears that it could well be into the second half of 2015 before the Ebola outbreak is brought under control in the three affected countries. As a result, the economic outlook for these countries is now worse than envisaged at the time of the recent additional IMF support. Significant financing gaps are emerging for 2015. Further budget support from bilateral and multilateral donors, preferably in grant form, will be needed.”
5. Med shot, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE: (English), Bill Murray, IMF Deputy Spokesperson:
“I certainly hope that nothing is dead and buried in the context of the IMF governance reform. The management of the IMF, from Managing Director Lagarde on down, has made it crystal clear that governance reform is necessary and important to maintain the effectiveness and the viability of the institution. We are doing whatever we can to promote greater public understanding of the important role of the Fund plays in the global economy and the U.S. economy as well.”
7. Wide shot, exterior IMF building
The IMF Deputy Spokesperson Bill Murray said the IMF welcomes international community’s expressed interest in further support for the Ebola stricken countries.
Speaking at the bi-weekly press briefing in Washington, DC Murray said “we are very glad that some donors have expressed the interest in increasing support for the Ebola-affected countries.”
The IMF will discuss debt relief for them at the Group of 20 leaders meeting in Australia later this week as it considers further support for the countries most affected by the Ebola outbreak.
Murray stated “we are reaching out to all donors to see how we might be able to take this forward together with our Executive Board, using all the tools available to us. This would be additional to the 130 million dollars immediate support from the IMF that has already been provided interest free to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.”
The virus has infected over 14,000 people, most of them in these three West African countries, and more than 5,000 have died, according to the World Health Organization.
In terms of economic impact, he said “IMF staff’s previous projections were assuming that the epidemic would be brought under control by the first quarter of 2015. However it now appears that it could well be into the second half of 2015 before the Ebola outbreak is brought under control in the three affected countries. As a result, the economic outlook for these countries is now worse than envisaged at the time of the recent additional IMF support. Significant financing gaps are emerging for 2015. Further budget support from bilateral and multilateral donors, preferably in grant form, will be needed.”
Meanwhile, the media asked if the IMF governance reform is “dead and buried,” in the wake of last week’s U.S. midterm election. Murray said he certainly hopes that that is not the case, and reiterated the importance of the adoption of the 2010 quota and governance reforms.
At this year’s IMF Annual Meetings last month, the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), a key instrument for providing strategic direction to the work and policies of the Fund, strongly urged the United States, whose acceptance is needed, to ratify these reforms at the earliest opportunity. This would also open the way for work on the 15th Review to commence.
Murray also said “the management of the IMF, from Managing Director Lagarde on down, has made it crystal clear that governance reform is necessary and important to maintain the effectiveness and the viability of the institution. We are doing whatever we can to promote greater public understanding of the important role of the Fund plays in the global economy and the U.S. economy as well.”
