6 2000 Debates over IMF reform in South Africa Brian Kahn Introduction Since the Asian crisis of 1998, there have been numerous debates and discussions internationally about the need to design a new international monetary architecture. Inevitably, much of these discussions have revolved around the role of the IMF and the World Bank. The recently published Meltzer Commission Report was one of the out­comes of these debates. This report came up with a number of controversial recommendations about the role of the IMF in the international monetary system, as well as some governance issues. Surprisingly there has been relatively little debate in South Africa concerning issues of reforming the international financial architecture, or indeed about reform of the IMF itself. Although there is a strong antipathy towards the IMF and the World Bank in certain circles-particularly labour movement and South African Communist Party circles and some constituencies within the African National Con­gress(ANC)-, this is usually expressed in terms of the influence, direct or indirect, that these institu­tions have on economic policy formulation in the country. As South Africa has not been a regular borrower from the IMF, nor has it had a structural adjustment programme, the issue of access to IMF resources does not weigh heavily on the domestic debate. The only recent explicit critique of the IMF has come from the government, in advance of the IMF spring 2000 meetings in Washington, with the Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel, calling for internal changes within the IMF. The questions raised related to the internal governance structure of the IMF, and the access(or lack thereof) of developing countries to IMF resources. It appears that the focus is on championing developing coun­try causes, rather than narrow South African inter­ests. Other concerns related to the IMF revolve around the debt of HIPC countries, an issue which the South African Council of Churches, in con­junction with the Jubilee Initiative have embraced. Why so little debate? South Africa’s history in the IMF… It is surprising that in an open economy like South Africa, there is so little debate about the role of the IMF. Perhaps the reason for the lack of debate about the structure of the IMF lies in the fact that during the sanctions period South Africa had rela­tively little direct or open contact with the interna­tional monetary system or its institutions. The Summary There is little if any debate about the reform of the IMF in South Africa. South Africa had until recently very little contact to the International Financial Institutions. Yet, there is significant opposition to the IMF and its influence on policy formulation in South Africa. Government, albeit not pursuing a very active role, is favourable of structural changes within IMF and World Bank. Developing countries should have more voice inside both of the institutions. Long-term sup­port measures for developing countries should be maintained and the HIPC-Initiative should be accelerated .