Wolfowitz under fire at World Bank

WASHINGTON – Two years after he was named to take over the World Bank, former Pentagon deputy chief Paul Wolfowitz is under broad and sustained fire for his leadership of the powerful global lender.

Debate among World Bank members is intensifying as the International Development Association (IDA) – the group’s arm for lending to the poorest countries – seeks to replenish its coffers to help fund debt-relief promises. According to insiders, Wolfowitz is under attack for lacking strategic vision and for devoting too much energy to his flagship campaign to drive out corruption in Bank-funded projects.Anti-poverty campaigners have accused Wolfowitz of neglecting the World Bank’s traditional focus of activity in boosting education and health care.But Wolfowitz has denied the accusations of strategic drift.Before leaving for a trip to Africa last week, he said: “For the World Bank Group, Africa is a top priority because of its enormous needs and the challenges it faces.”Leaked minutes from a January board meeting showed national representatives in open revolt against Wolfowitz, who was controversially nominated two years ago by the US government to succeed James Wolfensohn.According to Fox News, which carried the minutes in both a “raw” version and a “sanitised” official one, the January meeting descended into “trench warfare.””Many members pointed out that the content of the paper did not meet their expectations,” the “raw” minutes read after Wolfowitz outlined his thinking to the board.”They were puzzled by the listing and categorisation of priorities in the paper.In the absence of an adequately articulated framework, speakers found it difficult to understand or assess budgetary implications,” they read.Representatives from France and Switzerland called Wolfowitz’s paper a “lost opportunity,” according to the minutes.Those from Canada and China complained that a World Bank budget could not be discussed without a proper list of strategic priorities, while even the US representative said Wolfowitz’s priorities should be “clarified.”Wolfowitz has already had to alter his contentious anti-corruption drive after a chorus of criticism from both rich and poor nations.At the Bank’s annual meeting in Singapore in September, he was admonished by several European countries and by developing nations for putting the anti-corruption initiative ahead of the needs of the poor.Countries like Britain, France and Germany were all wary about attaching restrictive conditions to the World Bank’s multi-billion-dollar development assistance.Wolfowitz said in late January that it was “almost surprising how strong the consensus was” in favour of his rejigged campaign, after he went back to the drawing board and consulted widely with governments and civil-society groups.But he has yet to win everyone over.”It’s like using a sledgehammer to smash a nut,” one European diplomat said, reflecting high-level grumbling over the amount of time and energy that is going into the anti-graft campaign.Nobody doubts the merits of rooting out corruption, the diplomat said, but it should not be so “front and center.”Nampa-AFPAccording to insiders, Wolfowitz is under attack for lacking strategic vision and for devoting too much energy to his flagship campaign to drive out corruption in Bank-funded projects.Anti-poverty campaigners have accused Wolfowitz of neglecting the World Bank’s traditional focus of activity in boosting education and health care.But Wolfowitz has denied the accusations of strategic drift.Before leaving for a trip to Africa last week, he said: “For the World Bank Group, Africa is a top priority because of its enormous needs and the challenges it faces.”Leaked minutes from a January board meeting showed national representatives in open revolt against Wolfowitz, who was controversially nominated two years ago by the US government to succeed James Wolfensohn.According to Fox News, which carried the minutes in both a “raw” version and a “sanitised” official one, the January meeting descended into “trench warfare.””Many members pointed out that the content of the paper did not meet their expectations,” the “raw” minutes read after Wolfowitz outlined his thinking to the board.”They were puzzled by the listing and categorisation of priorities in the paper.In the absence of an adequately articulated framework, speakers found it difficult to understand or assess budgetary implications,” they read.Representatives from France and Switzerland called Wolfowitz’s paper a “lost opportunity,” according to the minutes.Those from Canada and China complained that a World Bank budget could not be discussed without a proper list of strategic priorities, while even the US representative said Wolfowitz’s priorities should be “clarified.”Wolfowitz has already had to alter his contentious anti-corruption drive after a chorus of criticism from both rich and poor nations.At the Bank’s annual meeting in Singapore in September, he was admonished by several European countries and by developing nations for putting the anti-corruption initiative ahead of the needs of the poor.Countries like Britain, France and Germany were all wary about attaching restrictive conditions to the World Bank’s multi-billion-dollar development assistance.Wolfowitz said in late January that it was “almost surprising how strong the consensus was” in favour of his rejigged campaign, after he went back to the drawing board and consulted widely with governments and civil-society groups.But he has yet to win everyone over.”It’s like using a sledgehammer to smash a nut,” one European diplomat said, reflecting high-level grumbling over the amount of time and energy that is going into the anti-graft campaign.Nobody doubts the merits of rooting out corruption, the diplomat said, but it should not be so “front and center.”Nampa-AFP