JOSEPH TCHUNDJANG POUEMI AND PRESIDENT RUTO’S CRITIQUE OF THE IMF: A CALL FOR REFORM
Joseph Tchunjang Pouemi President Dr. William Ruto in China When the story of Africa’s economic journey is told, the name of Joseph Tchundjang Pouemi will stand tall among the continent’s most courageous economic thinkers. The Cameroonian economist, who once worked at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), offered a blistering critique of the global financial system from an African perspective—a critique that is more relevant today than ever, especially in light of President William Ruto’s today's calls for fundamental reform of international financial institutions. Pouemi’s 1980 magnum opus, Money, Servitude, and Freedom, warned of a global monetary order structured to maintain African dependency rather than empower it. His rejection of the IMF’s policy orthodoxy stemmed from firsthand experience: he joined the IMF in 1977 but resigned shortly after, disturbed by what he saw as inflexible, damaging prescriptions imposed on developing countries. To Pouemi, the IMF had become what h...