khosq.com

Many emerging market nations, including Armenia, have had huge difficulties servicing their foreign debt. They have all recently been helped by the IMF to service their debts.

For 27 years, IMF policies have put the need for poor countries to service foreign debt ahead of their need to develop. Development has been subordinated to debt repayment.

So what happened? Has the IMF suddenly changed? Has it been reborn with new policies and perspectives? Have the needs of developing countries shifted?

No, no and no.

What has happened is the global financial crisis. The needs of rich countries have changed, specifically those of their financial sectors, not the needs of poor countries.

Poor countries need more help than ever because the crisis will hurt them the most, and the damage will last much longer than in the West. But more IMF loans are not the help poor countries need. It is the help the international banks need. For these funds will flow directly through the poor countries to the international banks.

This is a global stimulus package, just like Australia's or China's domestic packages, with the critical difference being that whereas most of Australia's stimulus has been made available as grants to individuals or governments to spend, this package will be made available only as debt.

The rich countries, including Australia, are pumping resources into the IMF so it can lend the money to poor countries, which will add to the crippling debt burden they already bear.