DFI participated in a symposium organised by the Friends of the Global Fund, to examine the best ways to fund the SDGs for health, making a presentation on the key potential role of a partnership for tax revenue. Other sessions examined the need for a Global Fund for Health Systems, lessons from Rwanda and from the Ebola crisis, and use of technology to track implementation of health plans. The seminar was attended by 40 parliamentarians, officials and civil society organisations. During the visit DFI also held meetings with the German Development Ministry and Oxfam Germany about FfD and global tax reform issues. 

DRI took part in a World Bank mission aimed at developing a reform plan debt management. The recommendations were structured around three areas: strategy medium-term debt, Back Office, and developing the domestic market. The mission prepared a project that will be submitted for peer review and then to the Kyrgyz authorities for comment. It is anticipated that the final report be completed by June/July 2015.

DFI attended the EURODAD/IBIS conference in Copenhagen to help facilitate a workshop on why aid must use country systems, and to liaise with European CSOs on advocacy around tax, debt and private flows for development. At the conference, the Danish Minister for Development indicated that future global tax governance structures must give equal decision-making power to developing countries. DFI also took advantage of the visit to hold meetings with the Danish Foreign Ministry on FfD and global tax reform issues. 

The IMF and the World Bank announced $1.1 billion in debt relief for Chad, the fourth-least developed country in the world. Chad is now the 36th country to reach completion point under the HIPC Initiative (and the first since 2012). Prior to receiving debt relief, Chad owed around $800m to the World Bank, $400m to the African Development Bank and also about $500m to other governments. Reflecting the significant improvement in economic management in recent years, this announcement will be a welcome development for a country with more than half of its population living in poverty. 
It has taken almost 20 years since HIPC was established, and 8 years since Chad’s decision point. This now leaves Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan as the last HIPC countries awaiting relief.

New Rules for Global Finance is seeking feedback for the Global Consultation on Sovereign Debt Restructuring. The final report will incorporate this feedback and be presented at the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings held in Lima in October 2015. You can participate by sending your ideas, recommendations and ideas to Esta dirección electrónica esta protegida contra spambots. Es necesario activar Javascript para visualizarla , completing a 5-minute questionnaire, or organising or participating in a webinar.

DFI chaired and spoke in a panel with Oxfam and Peruvian NGO Ciudadanos al Dia on why monitoring budget revenue, financing and spending will be essential to track progress towards the SDGs. Click here to download the DFI/CaD presentation. This analysis built on the joint DFI-IBP-Oxfam briefing paper prepared in October 2014, as well as Chapter 5 of the GSW 2015 report on how to conduct budget monitoring. 

The African Development Bank has asked DFI to provide evidence to its ADF Task Force on potential debt risks for ADF borrowers during 2015-30. The Task Force meeting will be held in Abidjan on 29-30 May, after the Bank’s Annual Meetings.

Chaired and convened for the first time by Senegal, the network of Francophone LIC Finance Ministers and Experts met in Washington, DC on the margins of the Spring Meetings of the IBW. Technical officials from IDA-borrowing OIF countries discussed a report on tax policy, recommending a crackdown on tax exemptions, more progressive tax structures, and changes in global tax rules. Ministers then met senior officials of the IMF, OECD and World Bank, and requested precise actions to enhance IMF policy advice and technical assistance, broaden global initiatives to reform tax rules in order to change treaties, abolish the World Bank Doing Business criterion which encourages lower tax rates, and ensure that all IFC-sponsored projects pay full tax in beneficiary countries.

DFI has won an AfDB competitive bid to support DRC to reform its debt management laws and design a national debt strategy. The project is expected to be completed during 2015-16.  

In the CSO seminars’ programme during the BWI Spring Meetings, DFI proposed a motion that “The World Needs a Sovereign Debt Bankruptcy Procedure”, in an Oxford-style debate organised by New Rules for Global Finance, and won the motion by 80-20% and by convincing 20% of the audience to change their positions to favour the motion. A video of the debate is available on the New Rules website.