KIEV – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday said it wants deeper reforms and stronger anti-corruption measures before extending a second tranche of aid to Ukraine.
Goesta Ljungman, the IMF representative here, said a team from the Washington-based lender held talks with Ukrainian officials in late December and early last month.
They focused on “strengthening governance of the national bank; improvements to the legislative and regulatory framework for bank supervision and resolution; policies to reduce the medium-term fiscal deficit; legislation restoring and strengthening the anti-corruption framework and the judiciary; and, energy policy”.
“The discussions were productive, but more progress is needed to support completion of the first review under the programme. Discussions will continue.”
IMF last June approved a US$5 billion (RM20.2 billion) line of credit, with an immediate payment of US$2.1 billion, to help Ukraine fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Four other tranches were scheduled in 2020 and this year, but none has been disbursed to the country of 40 million people, one of the poorest in Europe, due to the slow pace of reforms.
The Centre for Economic Strategy said the “main hurdle to unblocking a new tranche from IMF is the reticence of the authorities to put an end to corruption”.
“It is crucial to obtain a positive decision from IMF before September” for Ukraine to be able to service its external debt, it said. – AFP, February 14, 2021
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