The IMF has been lending to sovereign governments for 81 years. It operates programmes in 149 countries. It has never produced a project-level rating of whether those programmes delivered their stated objectives.
The World Bank rates every completed project. The African Development Bank rates every completed project. The Asian Development Bank rates every completed project and publishes the gap between management ratings and independent evaluator ratings. The IMF does none of this.
The Independent Evaluation Office was established in 2001. In 25 years it has produced valuable thematic work. But it does not rate individual country programmes. Its budget is determined by management. Its recommendations are advisory. When the IEO found that the IMF’s COVID governance framework was “a checklist,” management’s response was published alongside the finding in the same document. The structural mechanism for translating that finding into institutional change is not clearly defined.
Today’s open letter asks five questions about the IEO’s mandate and independence — and what genuine reform would require before the next $20–50 billion in emergency financing is approved this week.