Post of IMF adviser still pending

All three nominations are serving in the Ministry of Finance

ISLAMABAD:

The Ministry of Finance has finalised an in-house panel for appointment to the coveted post of senior adviser to the executive director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) amid Pakistan’s estranged relations with the global lender.

All three nominations for the Washington-based post, which requires an extensive set of skills, are serving in the Ministry of Finance.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the Finance Ministry has nominated Zulifqar Younus, a Special Assistant to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Amir Gondal, Joint Secretary of External Finance and Saifuallah Dogar, the Joint Secretary dealing with the IMF in the Q block. Gondal is currently attending a training course.

The post of the senior adviser demands a strong set of skills, which includes knowledge of global economic issues and a deep understanding of the way the IMF works.

Pakistan’s current Senior Advisor to the IMF, Dr Saeed Ahmad, is going to complete his three-year term on January 5th. Over three months ago, the IMF’s executive director had informed Pakistan about Ahmad’s decision to relinquish his position, but the Ministry of Finance has yet to finalise a nominee. The sources said that a summary is now being prepared for the approval of the prime minister (PM).

In September 2021, the IMF had written to Pakistan to retain Ahmad due to his strong credentials and outstanding performance. The global lender had also urged the government to immediately nominate a new equally qualified candidate. In the past, the IMF preferred to have a nominee with strong credentials in economy and a good understanding of the IMF policies, who has also worked at senior positions within the central bank.

Given a throwback to the track record of filling these high-profile posts, the Finance Ministry may take time before a final decision is made and communicated to the IMF for formal approval. Just as it has not yet been able to fill the posts of economic ministers in Pakistan’s embassies in Washington, London, Tokyo and Beijing that have been vacant for over five years.

The Ministry of Finance did not comment on the matter. Zulifqar Younus, an officer of Pakistan Customs, is currently serving on an administrative post. Amir Gondal is from the Audit and Accounts service group and Saifullah Dogar is from the Pakistan Administrative Services and both have been serving in the external finance wing as joint secretaries.

The appointment of senior adviser is being made at a time when Pakistan’s relations with the IMF are seemingly again strained. The new nominee will not only have to deal with the difficulties brought about by the derailed programme, but will also have to lay the groundwork for a new IMF programme. Inaction on part of the government, to revive the bailout programme, has created serious issues for the country – along with increasing the prospects of a sovereign default. Former finance minister Miftah Ismail has been repeatedly pointing out the looming threat of default in the absence of the IMF lending.

Dealing with Pak-IMF relations is just a very small part of the senior advisor’s job description. The senior adviser also assists the IMF executive director, who represents eight countries at the IMF Executive Board. In addition to this, the senior advisor is also required to assist the executive director in dealing with the financing requests from member countries, submit Article-IV reports of the members and handling the policy papers.

Some of the former senior advisors, who happened to be civil servants, failed to meet the professional requirements of the post, compromising Pakistan’s standing at the IMF. The position has often been used to accommodate bureaucrats close to the ruling elite.

Pakistan’s external sector situation remains precarious and official foreign currency reserves are depleting fast. As of December 23rd, Pakistan’s gross official reserves were only $5.8 billion, hardly enough to provide import cover for one month.

Moreover, Pakistan is going to make two foreign commercial debt repayments valuing over $1 billion this week, which will push the reserves to below $5 billion.

Sources said that under such circumstances, Pakistan needed its representative in the IMF to convince their board members about the dire need of a bailout programme and mend its relation with the lender.

Instead of circulating the post among other ministries, the Ministry of Finance has decided to handpick all the three candidates from the Q Block, which has limited its talent pool.

There was an in-house discussion about whether the post should be circulated or not, but was then decided that the nominees would be handpicked on the pretext that it will not be an appointment but a nomination. It is said that the final decision will be made by the IMF’s executive director.

According to the Civil Servants (Service in International Organisations) Rules, 2016, “all Pakistan-specific foreign posts that are vacant and available or are likely to become vacant, shall be circulated amongst all eligible officers of the identified services, cadres and occupational groups, clearly specifying eligibility criteria in terms of educational qualifications, experience, age, grade and so forth.”

Earlier, in order to avoid conflict of interest and send the right people abroad, Fawad Hasan Khan, the former secretary to the PM, had laid down a few conditions for appointments at the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and IMF. These conditions, however, have never been applied.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2023.

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