Business
New dynamic as South Africa snubs IMF boss
IMF Head Christine Lagarde (l) with South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma. PHOTO/Reuters
It was a hot summer day when Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited South Africa in early January. However, it appeared that she received a rather chilly welcome from the South African government.
The South Africans, despite knowing about her visit for more than a month, had not scheduled any meetings with the Finance Minister, the Reserve Bank governor or any other key economic advisors. Crucially, no meeting was lined up with President Jacob Zuma.
It seemed that IMF staff were scrambling to pin down the South Africans even after Lagarde had arrived in the country.
The reasons for the South Africans lukewarm response to her visit are now more clear. The headline of the Johannesburg-based Business Day newspaper reads, “IMF taps Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) to fund US$1 billion crisis gap.”
The article said, “Emerging nations asked to help bail out ailing richer economies.”