IMF plays waiting game on reforms as US delays proceedings

IMF members agreed to a package of reforms more than four years ago, but the US has put a halt to progress, writes Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr.

MORE than four years have passed since an overwhelming majority of the membership of the IMF agreed to a package of reforms that would double the organisation’s resources and reorganise its governing structure in favour of developing countries.

But adopting the reforms requires approval by the IMF’s member countries; and, though the US was among those that voted in favor of the measure, President Barack Obama has been unable to secure Congressional approval. The time has come to consider alternative methods for moving the reforms forward.