Sri Lanka like situation may be repeated without Government support: IMF

Washington: The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva has warned governments that unless the poorest of the society is given proper support and provided subsidies for food and energy, protest that were seen in Sri Lanka could be repeated in other countries also.

Georgieva told the BBC that it was due to "a sense of inequality growing" and making of decisions without the support of the masses that has caused for unrest in France and Chile before the Covid-19 pandemic.

"If we are to learn any lessons from 2019 if is to be much more humble about policy decisions, and engage in multiple ways with people, because policies must be for people, not the paper we write them on," she told the BBC.

The IMF chief said support needs to be provided "in a very targeted manner, preferably by providing subsidies directly to people".

When it comes to the cost of living crisis, Georgieva told the BBC: "There are two priorities, one the very poor people, segments of society that are now struggling with high food and energy prices".

The second, she added, is to support those businesses that have been "most damaged" by the war in Ukraine.

Georgieva is also concerned about the impact those higher borrowing costs will have on governments who have to repay huge debts they took on to get through the pandemic.

With that in mind she said governments needed to be "very careful" about how much money they spent and what they spent it on.

With inputs from IANS