South Africa’s Finance Ministry was disappointed by the European Union’s (EU) nomination of a candidate for the top job at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without broader consultation, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
The EU said on Tuesday its finance ministers had agreed to support former French finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn to head the IMF, a position Europeans have always held under an agreement where the top post at the World Bank also always goes to an American.
”We want to reiterate our position as outlined in the G20 [developing countries grouping] communiqué … that the selection of senior management of the Bank and the Fund should be based on broad representation of all member countries,” said Ministry of Finance spokesperson Thoraya Pandy.
”We are disappointed by the decision taken by EU finance ministers to nominate Dominique Strauss-Kahn as its candidate without consideration of the G20 statement. The EU would be wrong to argue that the US did, why can’t Europe do it,” she said to Reuters.
South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has often urged the need for governance reforms at the World Bank and the IMF, warning their relevance to developing countries like South Africa is under threat.
On Thursday Pandy said Manuel had ”tremendous respect” for Strauss-Kahn and that he had strong credentials, but added: ”This is a difficult time in the life of the Bretton Woods institutions and the issue of legitimacy is paramount.”
Britain said on Tuesday it would not be bound by the EU deal to back Strauss-Kahn as IMF managing director, saying the nomination process should be opened up to other areas of the world, and that it might support someone else.
”We concur with the views expressed by [Britain] that Europe cannot simply say that the position belongs to the continent,” Pandy said, without directly replying to the question of whether Manuel himself was interested in the post. – Reuters