008 IMF Conditions That Allow Exploitation By Companies From More Developed Economies —Why Uganda Is Poor

Chris MK Digit
3 min readOct 26, 2020

In the last series we saw the crippling economic policies placed on Uganda…
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These policy prescriptions are considered the “standard” reform packages promoted for crisis-wracked developing countries by Washington, D.C.-based institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and United States Department of the Treasury
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These prescriptions are called the “Washington Consensus”… Discussion of the Washington Consensus has long been contentious.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Consensus#History
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Most criticism has been focused on trade liberalization and the elimination of subsidies, and criticism has been particularly strident in the agriculture sector. In nations with substantial natural resources, though, criticism has tended to focus on privatization of industries exploiting these resources.
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Many critics of trade liberalization, such as Noam Chomsky, Tariq Ali, Susan George, and Naomi Klein, see the Washington Consensus as a way to open the labour market of underdeveloped economies to exploitation by companies from more developed economies…

Some US economists, such as Joseph Stiglitz and Dani Rodrik, have challenged what are sometimes described as the ‘fundamentalist’ policies of the IMF and the US Treasury for what Stiglitz calls a ‘one size fits all’ treatment of individual economies. According to Stiglitz the treatment suggested by the IMF is too simple: one dose, and fast — stabilize, liberalize and privatize, without prioritizing or watching for side effects

None of these economists are African or Black… but they are confident enough to speak out against these policies…
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The prescribed reductions in tariffs and other trade barriers allow the free movement of goods across borders according to market forces, but labour is not permitted to move freely due to the requirements of a visa or a work permit
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This creates an economic climate where goods are manufactured using cheap labour in underdeveloped economies and then exported to rich First World economies for sale at what the critics argue are huge markups, with the balance of the markup said to accrue to large multinational corporations.
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Many of the policy prescriptions (e.g., the privatization of state industries, tax reform, and deregulation) are criticized as mechanisms for ensuring the development of a small, wealthy, indigenous elite in the Third World who will rise to political power and also have a vested interest in maintaining the local status quo of labour exploitation
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Consensus#Criticism
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stiglitz
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dani_Rodrik
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Rosefielde
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariq_Ali
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_George_(political_scientist)
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_Klein
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All these policy items means that Uganda remains held down by the chains of the Washington Consensus… which means its people and it’s economy remains in a constant struggle for survival…
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This is manifested in 25% of the Uganda Budget going towards paying off these external debts 2019//2020 down from 30% in 2018./2019… and 15% of the Uganda budget going towards Transport & Works 2019/2020…
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So 40% [25% External Debt Payments + 15% Transport & Works] of the Uganda budget goes towards stuff the everyday man has no benefit from….
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Imagine having 40% of your home budget go on Credit Card payments or debts… when will you invest in your education courses… stuff to make you more productive… healthcare… healthy food… stuff to enhance your mental health…???
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https://budget.go.ug/dashboard/

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