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IMF: Combating Graft Key Element For Any New Ukraine Loan

By RFE/RL September 12, 2019

WASHINGTON -- Fighting corruption will be a key component of any new lending program Ukraine gets with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Gerry Rice, IMF communications director, said in a September 12 briefing in Washington.

Before his appointment last month, Ukraine's Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk in July said Ukraine wanted to replace a current $3.9 billion standby arrangement with the IMF that expires at year-end and replace it with a longer-term program.

Rice said an IMF team is in Kyiv and is currently taking "stock of the new government's policy intentions" during its stay that will conclude around September 26.

One "important element of the discussions," Rice said, is the "importance of creating an effective anti-corruption framework," which has been a "critical element of our engagement with Ukraine for the last few years."

Ukraine ranks 120th out of 180 countries on watchdog Transparency International's perceived corruption index.

In recent years it has adopted new anti-graft laws and agencies have been established, including the National Agency for Corruption Prevention, National Anti-Corruption Bureau, and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

According to polls, after the conflict with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, corruption is the second-most important issue for Ukrainians.

In previous announcements, Honcharuk said he wants a staff-level agreement for up to four years to go into effect by the end of the year.

Under the current program, Ukraine has tapped $1.4 billion.

The IMF projects Ukraine's economy will grow by 2.7 percent this year, whereas Honcharuk said he is targeting 5 percent annual growth.

Inflation is taming, according to the Washington-based lender, and is projected to reach 8 percent this year.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/imf-combating -graft-key-element-for-any- new-ukraine-loan/30161347.html

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.