Search for WB top officials

WASHINGTON – World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has appointed a committee to find candidates from developing countries for the bank’s No.

2 position, a step intended to open up a traditionally closed decision-making process for top officials. In a letter to staff late on Monday, Wolfowitz announced an eight-member committee of World Bank officials to choose candidates to handle the responsibilities of departing managing director, Shengman Zhang, who is leaving at the end of the year.Wolfowitz has already made clear he intends to divide Zhang’s roles of global operations and strategy into two positions.The committee is the first major break from past procedures by Wolfowitz, who became World Bank president six months ago and has been under scrutiny due to his ties to the Bush administration.Wolfowitz has insisted – despite staff concerns – that no major shake-up is planned.But he is believed to want a more efficient operation based on measurable results to overcome perceptions of a bloated bureaucracy at the bank.”I am asking the committee to look for candidates who share our commitment to the Bank Group’s mission of poverty reduction, who have extensive experience in developing countries and preferably come from developing countries; and who are dedicated to assuring that the Bank Group is a model of integrity and accountability,” Wolfowitz wrote.”The committee will be supported by an external private search firm which we are in the final stages of selecting,” he added.Graeme Wheeler, the World Bank’s treasurer and a former New Zealand treasury official, will head the committee and also act as managing director until the post is filled, Wolfowitz said.Developing countries have long called for a more open selection process of top officials in institutions like the World Bank and its sister organisation, the International Monetary Fund, which are dominated by wealthy industrial nations.The committee includes Frannie Leautier, vice president of the World Bank Institute; Pamela Cox, vice president, Latin America; Dorothy Berry, vice president for human resources at the International Finance Corp.; Michel Wormser, sector director, Africa infrastructure; Daniela Gressani, country director for Central Europe and the Baltics; Philip Adoteye, senior auditor; and Robin Cleveland, a senior advisor to Wolfowitz.Committee members are drawn from the bank’s rank and file, as well as management, a move intended to demonstrate the commitment to a wide-reaching selection process.”The committee represents the Bank Group’s regions and network as well as its rich diversity of personnel,” Wolfowitz said.Wheeler, who is not a candidate for the post, is highly regarded inside and outside the bank, overseeing nearly US$20 billion (N$130 billion) in multiple currencies and over US$60 billion in assets for the World Bank.- Nampa-ReutersIn a letter to staff late on Monday, Wolfowitz announced an eight-member committee of World Bank officials to choose candidates to handle the responsibilities of departing managing director, Shengman Zhang, who is leaving at the end of the year.Wolfowitz has already made clear he intends to divide Zhang’s roles of global operations and strategy into two positions.The committee is the first major break from past procedures by Wolfowitz, who became World Bank president six months ago and has been under scrutiny due to his ties to the Bush administration.Wolfowitz has insisted – despite staff concerns – that no major shake-up is planned.But he is believed to want a more efficient operation based on measurable results to overcome perceptions of a bloated bureaucracy at the bank.”I am asking the committee to look for candidates who share our commitment to the Bank Group’s mission of poverty reduction, who have extensive experience in developing countries and preferably come from developing countries; and who are dedicated to assuring that the Bank Group is a model of integrity and accountability,” Wolfowitz wrote.”The committee will be supported by an external private search firm which we are in the final stages of selecting,” he added.Graeme Wheeler, the World Bank’s treasurer and a former New Zealand treasury official, will head the committee and also act as managing director until the post is filled, Wolfowitz said.Developing countries have long called for a more open selection process of top officials in institutions like the World Bank and its sister organisation, the International Monetary Fund, which are dominated by wealthy industrial nations.The committee includes Frannie Leautier, vice president of the World Bank Institute; Pamela Cox, vice president, Latin America; Dorothy Berry, vice president for human resources at the International Finance Corp.; Michel Wormser, sector director, Africa infrastructure; Daniela Gressani, country director for Central Europe and the Baltics; Philip Adoteye, senior auditor; and Robin Cleveland, a senior advisor to Wolfowitz.Committee members are drawn from the bank’s rank and file, as well as management, a move intended to demonstrate the commitment to a wide-reaching selection process.”The committee represents the Bank Group’s regions and network as well as its rich diversity of personnel,” Wolfowitz said.Wheeler, who is not a candidate for the post, is highly regarded inside and outside the bank, overseeing nearly US$20 billion (N$130 billion) in multiple currencies and over US$60 billion in assets for the World Bank.- Nampa-Reuters