Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Friday said new managing director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be from the developing world. The new MD should not be a politician as there are many widely respected technocrats and governors of the central banks who would serve without political considerations, said PEW President Dr Murtaza Mughal.
This most important international institution had been facing credibility issues due selection of politicians to run the show, it said. The process of selection of new MD should be transparent with all stakeholders on board as decisions taken behind closed doors were seldom welcomed; he said adding that international community should be taken on board, as whole world was a stakeholder in this critical issue.
Many MDs of IMF had been blamed for taking decisions based on desire for popularity and pleasing electorate that had jeopardised development processs in many countries, he said. Such a mindset must be changed as it had not helped reduce poverty in the world, Dr Murtaza Mughal demanded. World doesn't need an IMF's chief who prefer popularity over merit and his future political considerations keep him busy.
The concept of a European leading IMF and an American ruling World Bank needs to be altered as some Asian countries have also emerged on the global economic scene that cannot be ignored anymore. Majority of European leaders wanted to keep it that way which could force emerging economies to think for alternatives whom demands for greater representation at the IMF had been falling on deaf ears, said Dr Mughal.