"There's just no money. But you take care!" Today the statement of the Russian Prime Minister which has become a meme is also used by Western creditors. Well, of course, they do not give it straight but the message is clear.
So, the IMF Board of Directors postponed the scheduled meeting for the discussion of the Ukraine's anti-crisis program. There is nothing to worry about, one may think, they will just discuss it later. However, the decision on whether to give Ukraine one more tranche totaling a billion dollars or not had to be made during this very meeting. No meeting means no funding. The official reason for this postponement is as follows: "The latest developments in the country need to be studied further on the subject of their potential impact on the economy and be taken into account in macroeconomic forecasts of the cooperation program with the Fund". The IMF, though, did not even set the date of the next meeting on the issue. They loan money in exchange for reforms and, thus, the Ukrainian government tries to fulfill its obligations.
A number of experts believe the citizens of Ukraine will suffer from such cooperation as they will lose tens of thousands of hryvnias from their subsidies and pensions. The government will be forced to freeze the indexation of social payments, reduce municipal subsidies, and carry out the pension reform. Moreover, the requirements for receiving a loan include raising the retirement age, privatization of enterprises, reducing the number of government employees, and opening the land market. Apparently, these demands will be met. What you won't do for a billion of dollars!
