IMF loans would lead to subordination, says expert

Economic expert Mustafa al-Nasharty firmly disagreed with Egypt’s new finance minister, Hazem al-Beblawy, who said he has not ruled out borrowing money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Nasharty said borrowing from the IMF would impose economic and political constraints on Egypt, noting Egypt’s commitment to implement economic reform as a condition of IMF loans at the beginning of the 1990s.

Nasharty said Egypt pursued brutal policies to meet the IMF conditions, including implementing the model of free economy and privatization, which left negative social and economic effects on Egyptian citizens.

Implementing such policies was one of the most important factors leading to the outbreak of Egypt’s January 25 Revolution, according to Nasharty. He said the revolution demanded social justice, which contradicts IMF policies.

Nasharty added that Egypt can find other solutions to replace borrowing from the IMF through implementing policies that balance a market economy with social justice. He called for restructuring the Egyptian economy to increase production of commodities and services in addition to changing the policy of financing the budget deficit to avoid taking loans from the IMF.