Ms. Magdalena Andersson begins her tenure as new Chair of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) for the next three years after her appointment by the membership of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
She takes over from Lesetja Kganyago, the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, who has successfully chaired the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) for the last three years.
In a Joint Press Conference by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and IMFC Chair Magdalena Andersson, Ms. Andersson thanked Lesetja Kganyago for his excellent work and efforts during the current crisis.
Speaking on the state of the global economy, Ms. Andersson asserted that the pandemic has placed enormous pressure on our societies and the recovery is likely to be both gradual and uneven, and undoubtedly, the scars will last for years to come.
The social and economic situation is especially grave in the poorest countries, Ms. Andersson opined adding that “for almost 25 years, we’d had a fantastic development. Extreme poverty has declined steadily. But the pandemic has meant that we see a very worrying setback. In 2020, the number of people living in extreme poverty is estimated to have increased from 27 to 115 million people”.
“This crisis is taking a massive toll on the poor and vulnerable with high human and economic costs. And global action is urgently needed and support from the IMF and other multilateral institutions will be very important,” she added.
Touching on fiscal policy, Ms. Andersson hinted that an important lesson from the global financial crisis was that support should not be withdrawn too early and as such the IMF should continue its crisis support.
However, once circumstances allow, Ms. Andersson holds that there is a need to “restore public finances to ensure preparedness for the next crisis because previous economic crises have also taught us that as well as being timely, fiscal support must be temporary.
“And when the time comes to support our economies to recover from this crisis, we should act smart and effective because we have a remarkable opportunity to rebuild our economies and equip them for the future”.
Ms. Andersson finally hammered that, the core mandate of the IMF is to be a ‘global firefighter’ in times of economic distress, to promote financial stability hence, the Fund must be “Accurate, Agile, and All inclusive” if it has to be a key player to build a world that is “fairer, more robust, and more sustainable” than before the pandemic
Ms. Georgieva, taking her turn, also lauded Magdalena Andersson’s deep experience and strong commitment to multilateralism in this crisis, adding that these are exactly what the IMF needs today.
“You have also made history as the first woman to lead the IMFC in its 76 years of history at the IMF. It’s so fitting that you’re the one that takes the first shot at the IMFC chair as a woman coming from a country with very strong traditions in pursuing gender equality, where women have exactly the same legal rights as men.
“Likewise, I want to pay tribute to the outgoing chair, Governor Lesetja Kganyago of South Africa. He has steered the IMF’s ship in the choppy COVID waters so extremely well. I recall how we swiftly called two virtual meetings of the IMFC in the early weeks of the pandemic. And this is what allowed us to swiftly take action as a first responder at the time of crisis”.
