Aleksei Kudrin
finance minister, Russia
The IMF should not reduce its role from what it is doing right now in monitoring of global currency markets. As for the development of anti-crisis methods, this was part of its role, and remains so, and that should stay the way it is.
The Fund is something of a guiding hand, especially for Russia. When it tried to put external pressure on us to adopt certain policies and even tried to offer us some kind of ÒcarrotÓ in the form of credits it didnt work. But when Russia itself started to implement these principles, we quickly started to emerge from crisis. All the same, there has to be an organ that can support these principles.
Taking into account the global imbalances that remain, there has to be a body that monitors and analyzes countries, not simply an academic research institute, but a body before which the state has to take a certain degree of responsibility, for its statistics and for the guiding principles of policies.
Guido Mantega
finance minister, Brazil
What we want from the IMF is for it to create a special emergency account Ð not for Brazil because Brazil is far from needing something like this today Ð but for the stability of the world economy. Some weaker economies may actually need to draw from such an emergency account, with funds to be released quicker [than they may be now]. The suggestion is already there, but we have to keep on working on it to make it happen.
BrazilÕs needs towards the IMF have declined a lot. Today I think itÕs the IMF that needs Brazil more than Brazil that needs the IMF. The IMF has a cash surplus, but it is not earning interest on loans because it has been repaid by countries such as Brazil and Argentina.
The admission of members Ð Mexico, China, Turkey and South Korea Ð we consider fair, but we need to set up an architecture so that the power of small shareholders in the decision-making process will not be reduced. What we are debating is the decision-making process. Instead of penalizing countries with small participation, we need to make sure that countries with a greater number of shares accept to reduce their parts Ð and that the two stages will take place simultaneously. There is a danger now that the second stage will not happen and that we end up weaker.Ó
Zhou Xiaochuan
central bank governor, PRC
ÒOn the question of quota reform, we donÕt only consider China. We consider developing countries in general, especially many Asian countries that are developing at a relatively fast growth rate. There should be some kind of adjustment in the IMFÕs quotas to allow each country to have the voting power corresponding to their weight in the world economy.
WeÕre not in a hurry because we know an international organization like the IMF is a very complicated mechanism. It should be a set of very gradual changes, but we recognize itÕs also difficult for different parties to reach agreement on that.
Of course itÕs not dependent on us. We try not to predict or estimate the timing.Ó
Trevor Manuel
finance minister, South Africa
ÒThe logic [of quota reform ought] to tip you in favour of Africa, but political decisions would not tip you in favour of logic unfortunately. Greater shareholding should be given to countries with greater economic voice Ð this includes China, Brazil and marginally India.
The slightly larger problem is that quotas were devised not as a mathematical formula but as a political formula Ð every move since has been proportionate to the original error. ItÕs exceedingly politically charged. Optimistically, you should have representation per monetary area Ð in these terms Europe is over-represented.
In the case of Africa, one executive director represents 25, and the other 21 countries. If you take 46 countries, the bulk have programmes with the Bank and the Fund, the majority with the Bank as a major source of lending. The fundamental question to be answered is how can you have one executive director, with one alternate, with any hope of representing 46 countries with equal attention and efficiency.
There are some large shareholders that use the Bank as a foreign policy mechanism and not as an economic policy forum.Ó
Sadakazu Tanigaki
finance minister, Japan
ÒJapan has been drawing attention to the unbalanced situation in terms of IMF quotas and the need for rebalance.
Particularly since the Asian crisis, Asian countries have started to keep a little distance from the IMF. There was a rising trend for that, and the IMF knows that one of their major challenges ahead is to overcome the sentiment which has developed in Asian countries vis a vis the IMF.
We are of the view that the quota allocation needs to reflect better the economic reality of each of the member economies concerned Ð for the sake of having a good relevance and legitimacy for the IMF.Ó