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Muslim Brotherhood wary of Egypt IMF loan

Al Akhbar | March 20, 2012

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest political force, on Tuesday held off from backing a request for a loan from the International Monetary Fund, urging more government transparency.

The Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party said it met with an IMF delegation in Cairo to discuss the loan which has raised fears of strangling Egypt’s economy to mostly Western lenders.

“The loan will be a burden on the shoulders of Egyptian people, who have the right to know how it will be spent and how it will be paid off,” its head Mohammed Mursi said in a statement.

The Muslim Brotherhood said it did not object to the IMF or assistance from abroad, but cautioned that it needed to meet Egyptian interests.

The party “would certainly accept any help from these institutions in any way that would serve public interests,” Mursi said.

The Islamist party, the largest in parliament, said the government “has not yet submitted a plan of economic measures relating to the loan” and did not say “how this loan will be used, or how it will be paid off.”

The IMF is seeking assurances from the Muslim Brotherhood that it would back the loan, diplomatic sources told AFP.

Egypt had spurned an IMF loan last year but reversed its decision amid a stalling economy.

The IMF loan has come under fierce criticism in Egypt, with many fearful that it will allow Western powers to gain control of the country’s weakened economy.

Egypt’s foreign currency reserves have fallen while the budget deficit increased due to public spending.

In addition to the IMF loan, Egypt has sought US$1 billion from the World Bank and US$500 million from the African Development Bank.

(Al-Akhbar, AFP)

March 20, 2012 - Posted by | Economics | , , , , , ,

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