IMF team arrives in Pakistan for governance, corruption assessment

February 09, 2025 (MLN): A three-member mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has arrived in Pakistan to conduct a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCDA) under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) 2024 program, according to the press statement issued by the Finance Division today. 

"This Press Release aims to add clarity to reports circulating in the media regarding an International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) mission visiting Pakistan for conducting a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment," the statement reads.

The assessment, a structural benchmark under the IMF program, aims to analyze governance and corruption vulnerabilities across key state functions, including fiscal governance, central bank operations, financial sector oversight, market regulation, rule of law, and anti-money laundering (AML-CFT).

The mission will mainly engage with organizations like the Finance Division, the Federal Board of Revenue, the State Bank of Pakistan, the Auditor General of Pakistan, the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the Election Commission of Pakistan and the Ministry of Law & Justice. 

The GCDA report will recommend actions for addressing corruption vulnerabilities and strengthening integrity & governance, which will assist the government in bringing about reforms for promoting transparency, strengthening institutional capacities and achieving inclusive & sustainable economic growth.

"The Government of Pakistan appreciates the technical support of the IMF in this regard," the statement further added. 

The International Monetary Fund has long provided advice and technical assistance that has helped to foster good governance, such as promoting public sector transparency and accountability.

Traditionally the IMF’s main focus has been on encouraging countries to correct macroeconomic imbalances, reduce inflation, and undertake key trade, exchange, and other market reforms needed to improve efficiency and support sustained economic growth.

While these remain its main focus in all its member countries, however the IMF has found that a much broader range of institutional reforms is needed if countries are to establish and maintain private sector confidence and thereby lay the basis for sustained growth.

IMF identified that promoting good governance in all its aspects, including ensuring the rule of law, improving the efficiency and accountability of the public sector, and tackling corruption are essential elements of a framework within which economies can prosper.

In 1997, the IMF adopted a policy on how to address economic governance, embodied in the Guidance Note “The Role of the IMF in Governance Issues”.

To further strengthen the implementation of this policy, the IMF adopted in 2018 a new Framework for Enhanced Engagement on Governance (Governance Policy) that aims to promote more systematic, effective, candid, and evenhanded engagement with member countries regarding governance vulnerabilities—including corruption—that are critical to macroeconomic performance.

Under this policy and framework, the IMF offers to undertake a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCDA) with member countries to analyze and recommend actions for addressing corruption vulnerabilities and strengthening integrity & governance in IMF member countries.

Following the analysis, GCDAs prioritize and sequence recommendations for systematically addressing the vulnerabilities.

Since 2018, twenty GCDA Reports have been finalized and include Sri Lanka, Mauritania, Cameroon, Zambia, and Benin. Ten Diagnostics are ongoing, and several are under consideration by IMF.

Similarly, under the EFF 2024 program, a structural benchmark has been set for the Government of Pakistan, with IMF capacity development support, to undertake a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic (GCD) Assessment.

This assessment will analyze critical governance and corruption vulnerabilities and identify priority structural reforms for the future.

The GCDA report will be published upon completion.

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