BOSNIA: IMF PROGRAM OFF TRACK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 001299 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE AND EEB/IFD TREASURY FOR OASIA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN PGOV IMF BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA: IMF PROGRAM OFF TRACK SARAJEVO 00001299 001.2 OF 002 Summary -------------- 1.(SBU) IMF representatives conducting the first progress review of Bosnia's $1.6 billion IMF standby arrangement gave a pessimistic report of the country's compliance with conditions needed for disbursement of a second tranche on schedule. They noted that both BiH entities -- the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska -- had as yet failed to provide complete 2010 budget information and appeared to be coming up short in fulfillment of several conditions. The IMF reps believed that both entities had resources in the short term to survive without the disbursement, and they acknowledged various scenarios in which disbursements could be postponed in the event that BiH failed the current review. They pointed out, however, that the fiscal pain for both entities would only get worse, the longer they waited to meet conditions. End summary. Second Disbursement Ideally Due in December -------------- 2.(SBU) IMF Mission Leader Costas Christou and recently-arrived IMF Resident Representative Milan Cuc called on Ambassador and Econ Counselor November 13, the tenth day of a first full review of Bosnia's compliance with conditions of the IMF standby arrangement approved in June 2009. The program envisioned payments totaling $1.6 billion in twelve quarterly installments over three years. A first, front-loaded disbursement of roughly $283 million was paid to the Central Bank of BiH in July upon IMF board approval of the program. The second tranche, worth $136 million, was supposed to be available to the Central Bank as early as December 10, 2009, if performance criteria had been met by September 30 and confirmed by the IMF review mission. 3.(SBU) An early benchmark, approval by the two entity parliaments of rebalanced 2009 budgets by the end of August 2009, appeared to have been met, just barely in the case of the Federation. The budget rebalancing required cuts in current government wages, and, in the case of the Federation, 10 percent reductions in social benefits to favored categories of veterans and war victims. Throughout the summer and fall, veterans groups staged demonstrations protesting the cuts. Their protests culminated in a threatened storming of the Federation Parliament on October 2, leading the Federation House of Representatives to adopt a hasty resolution repudiating both the rebalancing of the 2009 budget and any future budget cuts to meet IMF conditions. The Representatives' resolution has not been introduced in the House of Peoples and has no legal standing, but leaves a chilling effect on the Federation government's ability to meet conditions of the IMF program. Federation Officials in Disarray -------------- 4.(SBU) Christou reported that his team was still entertaining some hope that leaders in the two entities would reach necessary agreements on fiscal policies to be able to receive the next disbursement in December. However, he said, officials in the two entities were not well prepared for the IMF review, and the team after ten days still did not have a coherent picture of the situation. He noted that within both entities, leaders were not telling the same story or agreeing on a course of action. For example, Federation Prime Minister Mujezinovic had already indicated in public that he did not expect a successful IMF review or a December disbursement, leading Federation Finance Minister Bevanda to react angrily in private that the PM was undermining the discipline of the program. The Prime Minister and Finance Minister in fact would not sit down with each other to meet the IMF team jointly, Cuc added. The Federation, Christou said, has been unable to present a consolidated 2010 budget, because deep disagreements remain over how to handle wages, government transfers, and pensions. Republika Srpska - Controlled Chaos -------------- 5.(SBU) The situation in the RS was only slightly better, Christou and Cuc said -- a case of controlled chaos, compared with the uncontrolled chaos in the Federation. PM Dodik and Finance Minister Dzombic at least made similar statements that they were determined to stay on track with the IMF program, though they did not have a shared plan on how they would accomplish that. Although the RS does not have the problem facing the Federation of having to cut overly SARAJEVO 00001299 002.2 OF 002 generous social benefits, it does, like the Federation, have to deal with an unsustainable pension system. And while Banja Luka has the advantage of being able to draw on the escrow account raised through the privatization of the RS telecommunications company, it has been going through the money quickly (much of it diverted away from the type of investment projects for which it was intended),and the account is expected to dry up by mid-2010. Muddling Through in the Short Term -------------- 6.(SBU) Christou and Cuc were not overly concerned about the short-term impact of a failure of the current review, believing the Bosnians can manage for a while without the $136 million disbursement. In the RS, they will continue to draw on the escrow account, and in the Federation, they will probably delay some pension payments and transfers owed to the cantonal governments, they said. In the meantime, the IMF can be flexible, either coming back for another review if the situation appears to have improved and conditions appear to have been met, or waiting until the next scheduled review in March 2010 and lumping the second tranche in with the third. But one way or another, the Bosnians will have to make difficult fiscal adjustments, they said. The IMF program was meant to ease the adjustment, but the more the they delay the necessary reforms, the bigger the adjustment they will have to make down the road. Comment -------------- 7.(SBU) The costs of failure to meet terms for this second tranche are higher than just the IMF's $136 million. A World Bank budget support program worth another $100 million (with the possibility of more later) and a complementary EC assistance package worth 100 million euros ($149 million) are probably riding on a successful IMF review. The World Bank program has a limited shelf-life, because it is offered on low-interest "IDA" terms for which BiH will no longer be eligible by mid-2010. For the Federation, the problem is compounded by the fact that its 2009 budget included the expected disbursement of both the first and second tranches of the IMF loan. In the absence of the second disbursement, the Federation will be doubly hard pressed to find budget cuts. While we don't disagree with the IMF assessment that the Bosnians will muddle through in the short term without IMF money, we anticipate the possibility of more social unrest as the consequences become felt by the populace. ENGLISH