WASHINGTON - CIVIL society groups on Thursday urged more transparency in decision making at the International Monetary Fund and said voting power of member countries did not reflect the world's new economic order.
In a new report by the groups, which include global think tanks and poverty organizations, said the current distribution of voting power in the IMF, which favour the long-standing dominance of the US and Europe, threw into question the Fund's legitimacy.
Emerging market countries like China, India, Brazil and Russia have long called for a greater stake in the IMF to properly reflect their increasing clout in the world economy.
But member countries have squabbled for years over how to make it happen and at what countries' expense.
The report, requested by IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, documents the views of the civil society groups on ways to modernize the IMF and make it more effective in overseeing the stability of the global financial system.
Calls to improve the effectiveness and legitimacy of the Washington-based IMF have increased in the wake of the world financial crisis that has pushed the world into recession.
The Fund has approved billions of dollars in emergency loans into countries whose economies have been hard hit by the turmoil.
'Over time, the scope of IMF operations has widened and so too has the need for involving stakeholders, beyond the restricted circle of central bankers and senior finance ministry officials, who know and understand the institution well,' the groups said.
The report called for changes in the way the head of the IMF and his deputies are selected, saying the process was inconsistent with the multilateral nature of the institution. -- REUTERS
