Press Release No. 09/88

Press Release: IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn Welcomes Experts’ Report on Fund Decision Making

March 25, 2009

Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), today welcomed the report prepared by a committee of eminent persons chaired by Trevor Manuel, Minister of Finance of South Africa, to advise on the adequacy and effectiveness of the Fund's framework for decision making.

“The report of Trevor Manuel and his committee comes at a critical time, when the need for effective engagement between senior policy makers to tackle the global crisis-and forestall future ones-has acquired new urgency,” Mr. Strauss-Kahn said.

“The committee proposes a package of measures to enhance the Fund's legitimacy and effectiveness, including the formation of a high-level ministerial council to foster political engagement in strategic and critical decisions, acceleration of the quota and voice reform begun last year, a broader mandate for surveillance, clearer lines of responsibility and accountability between various decision-making entities in the Fund, and the introduction of an open, transparent and independent of nationality selection process for the Managing Director.

“I want to thank these eminent persons for agreeing to bring their experience, expertise, and wisdom to bear on the on-going reform of the IMF. It is my hope that concrete proposals can be distilled from this important body of work, which needs to be set alongside the perspectives offered by other reports and inputs, including from the membership, academia and civil society,” Mr. Strauss-Kahn added.

Background

The committee on IMF Governance Reform was appointed by the Managing Director on September 4, 2008. It is chaired by Trevor Manuel, Minister of Finance of South Africa, and includes: Michel Camdessus, former Managing Director of the IMF; Kenneth Dam, Professor at the University of Chicago; Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of Pacific Investment Management Co.; Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance of Indonesia; Guillermo Ortíz, Governor of the Bank of Mexico; Robert Rubin, Center for Foreign Relations; Amartya Sen, Professor at Harvard University; and Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor, People's Bank of China.

Governance reform efforts are also benefiting from important work by many groups and individuals, including the Fund's Independent Evaluation Office; the Fund's Executive Directors, who have formed a joint steering committee with Fund Management to focus on these issues; numerous academics and analysts; and civil society groups.