[stop-imf] IMF restores Liberia's status, approves financial aid

[robert weissman]

  For background see:

http://jubileeusa.typepad.com/blog_the_debt/2007/11/imf-finances-th.html



  http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gBdsHKjiPa5-kH8XzMl6huGSWyUQ



  IMF restores Liberia's status, approves financial aid

6 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) =97 The International Monetary Fund on Friday fully
restored Liberia's IMF status and approved 900 million dollars in
immediate financial support to the impoverished African country.

The IMF said its executive board agreed "to fully normalize financial
relations after more than two decades of protracted arrears" by Liberia
to the 185-nation institution.

The decisions also enabled the IMF to pledge financial support of some
952 million dollars to Liberia.

The executive board's decisions allow an immediate disbursement to
Liberia of some 900 million dollars, while the remaining 52 million will
be drawn in six installments.

"Liberia reached an important milestone today in normalizing its
financial relations with the IMF by clearing its long overdue financial
obligations," said Murilo Portugal, IMF deputy managing director.

He said bridge loans by the United States helped Liberia clear its
arrears to the IMF while other countries contributed to the financing
package.

The suspension of Liberia's rights to use IMF aid was lifted after
overdue obligations to the IMF were cleared through a bridge loan
amounting to 888 million dollars.

The approved IMF financial support includes a 391-million-dollar,
three-year arrangement under a poverty reduction and economic growth
loan and a 561-million-dollar arrangement in support of the an economic
program covering 2008-2010.

The IMF directors also agreed that Liberia had taken the steps necessary
to reach a qualifying point under its Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
(HIPC) program.

The IMF said that a separate news release regarding the deliberations on
its HIPC qualifications will be issued jointly with the World Bank
following consideration of them by the Bank's executive board, which was
expected early next week.

"Liberia has fulfilled the requirements to reach the decision point
under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative," Portugal said.

Portugal said that the government of Liberian President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf's medium-term economic policy framework "is appropriately
aligned with the government's poverty-reduction strategy."

"Liberia has also made good progress in strengthening governance," he added=
.

Liberia is recovering from 14 years of a brutal civil war that killed
270,000 people and ended in 2003 after former warlord-turned-president
Charles Taylor stepped down.