ISLAMABAD, July 2(ABC): Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are making an all-out effort to evolve a consensus on prior actions for moving towards a staff-level agreement and one of the bones of contention is related to the strengthening of the anti-corruption institutional mechanism.
The IMF wants to make it a part of the prior actions list because the government could not fulfil the Structural Benchmark (SB) agreed by the PTI-led regime on the completion of the sixth review. Now the IMF is vying for converting it into a fresh prior action for reviving the programme.
Pakistan has asked the IMF to exclude the strengthening of anti-corruption institutions from the list of prior actions, arguing that it did not fall within the purview and the mandate of the Fund. For striking a staff-level agreement, Pakistan and IMF high-ups are discussing a list of prior actions.
Pakistan will have to implement certain prior actions with effect from July 1, 2022, including the enactment of the Finance Act 2022, after getting approval of the parliament, imposition of petroleum levy, and raising power tariff in a gradual manner.
The Monetary Policy Committee is also scheduled to meet on July 7, for tightening of monetary stance. Now, keeping in view CPI-based inflation skyrocketing to 21.3% while the Wholesale Price Index touched 38.94 percent, there is no doubt that monetary tightening is on the cards.
The deregulation of POL prices is a part of the structural benchmark for the completion of the next reviews under the IMF program. Now there is a bone of contention that the IMF is asking for the inclusion of anti-corruption measures as part of prior actions.
When asked, whether the anti-corruption institutional mechanism is a part of prior actions for the completion of the seventh and eighth reviews under the EFF program, an IMF spokesperson replied: “Discussion with the Pakistani authorities on the review continues and we do not comment on specific elements under discussion.”
