Chief Minister (Minister of Finance) Reuben T. Meade following his announcement in February that his government had invited the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Montserrat, has confirmed that this will take place later this month.
During the ill-famed but brief press conference by Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell, which is still being referred to from time to time, he had supported Montserrat’s move to involve the IMF with Montserrat. He was responding to a question which improvement to the subsidies HMG had been providing to Montserrat. “… the government of Montserrat must live within their means, given the very substantial support they’re getting from us already, but in the bigger picture we of course are extremely supportive of the bid for Montserrat to access money from other sources the European union,” he said, adding, “ as I said we also have a very close relationship with the International Monetary Fund. ..we’re very supportive of government with the IMF.”
The CM had has said that the IMF’s review of Montserrat would assist Montserrat in its bid to for aid from other sources. This week ZJB News reports the Ministry of Finance as saying, although Montserrat is not a direct member of the IMF, it would assist with the “…..economic and financial problems consultations provide independent analysis of the economy that will enable the Government of Montserrat to make the changes necessary or at the very least understand what is happening in the economy.”
The Ministry reportedly noted further that Montserrat is not a member of the IMF but as an overseas territory of the UK is able to access it’s services through the United Kingdom’s membership. The report also said, “The ability to access this service and the information provided from the assessments made will help the government make better policy decisions and deliver more targeted programs. It will also help the government make good case to donor countries for support especially at this point where evidence based justification is essential.”
Related links:
http://www.themontserratreporter.com/news/local/uk-minister-tells-montserrat-%E2%80%9Cstand-on-your-own-two-feet%E2%80%9D-2 http://www.themontserratreporter.com/news/local/transcript-of-uk-secretary-of-state-for-dfid
