Government is preparing for the IMF to come to Belize on October 25th. And last week in Washington, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Said Musa paved the way for the fund by asking for help. 7 news has obtained a confidential cabinet document which summarizes the Prime Minister's meetings with the World Bank, the IMF and the IDB. It shows the Prime Minister telling the IDB president that Belize would be requesting a "home grown" program with the IMF. Later in talks with IMF deputy managing director Agustin Cardens, the Prime Minister stressed that Belize was not seeking a formal structural adjustment program, but was requesting the assistance of IMF staff, for, quote "enhanced monitoring." Cardens replied that the fund could provide that enhanced monitoring, could provide technical assistance with government spending, and debt management or could enter a cull structural adjustment program.
In later technical meetings with IMF staff, it was recommended that the IMF launch a shadow program, similar to what the fund has done in Haiti and Jamaica. Notably, the IMF technical team also inquired about the 63 million U.S. dollar guarantee for Intelco.