The International Monetary Fund warned the economic havoc caused by the coronavirus pandemic could spark further social unrest around the globe and urged governments to take steps to prevent the disturbances, according to a report.
The organization cautioned that “some countries remain vulnerable to new protests, particularly if policy actions to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis are perceived as insufficient or as unfairly favoring large corporates rather than people,” Agence-Presse France reported on Wednesday.
Protests over access to food aid during a coronavirus lockdown in South Africa on Tuesday prompted police to fire rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds.
The IMF, in its semi-annual Fiscal Monitor report, said the protests are “more likely in countries with histories of widespread corruption, lack of transparency in public policy, and poor service delivery.”
It noted that over the past two years there has been an increasing amount of strife worldwide over economic policies.
Protests broke out in Ecuador, Haiti and Iran over fuel price hikes, in France over pension reforms and in Chile where an increase in public transportation fares set off unrest on “much broader issues.”
The report called on governments to clearly communicate policy changes and why they are needed and give their citizens advance notice of the changes.
It also advised them to take steps to lessen the burden ahead of time when announcing increases in fuel prices.
Governments have been pumping cash into their economies to offset the damage of the pandemic, which has infected more than 2 million people worldwide.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment