Calling upon its own sources, on 6 April the portal Infomax.mk claimed that the IMF would not approve a 175-million-euro aid to Macedonia, but only 40.
In the text with the headline “NOTHING FOR MACEDONIA: The IMF will not approve 175-million-euro aid to Macedonia, even though Zaev claimed that it had been already secured”, the portal tried to deny the SDSM leader, Zoran Zaev, who had already announced that the IMF will approve a 175-million-euro aid to Macedonia for managing the COVID-19 crisis.
The portal also tried to support its claims with a statement by the analyst Aleksandar Pandov, who also claimed that the country will receive much less money than it requested from the IMF.
– In your show Mr. Zoran Zaev state that 175 million euro from the IMF had been secured. My information tells me that it is questionable whether we will receive as much as 40 million. The wish is different than the reality. I am not an economist, but I read economy and finance analysts, and they warn that tough times are ahead for Macedonia. I am also one of those that would like to hear that not 175, but 300 million were approved by the IMF, but the information says that they approved four times less. This was a comment by Pandov in the show “Samo vistina” (Only truth) on Kanal 5 TV.
However, it turned out that the truth is that the IMF will approve 176.5 million euro to Macedonia for managing the COVID-19 crisis.
“The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved a disbursement of SDR 140.3 million (about EUR 176.53 million, US$191.83 million, 100 percent quota) for the Republic of North Macedonia under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI). This financial support will help finance the health and macroeconomic stabilization measures, meet the urgent balance of payments needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and catalyze support from the international community”, the press-release from the IMF reads.
“The authorities quickly responded with targeted and temporary fiscal policy support to limit the social and economic impact of the health emergency by protecting the liquidity of companies, preserving jobs and providing social care for the jobless and vulnerable households. Meanwhile, the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia (NBRNM) has cut its monetary policy rate and implemented regulatory changes to encourage banks to restructure debts of high-quality borrowers affected by the pandemic”, the press-release from the IMF reads.
The publishing of such disinformation is with the aim to create mistrust in the international institutions and the institutions of the system. Additionally, a false picture is spread that they are not capable to manage the COVID-19 crisis, thereby causing discontent and panic among the citizens.
