3 February 2005
According to FT article, IFC head Peter Woicke claims a secretive deal between the US and Europe to replace James Wolfensohn would damage the credibility of his successor.
There is growing concern within the World Bank Group regarding the lack of transparency in the appointment of president James Wolfensohn's replacement, to be decided by the US Government in the coming months. The Bush Administration has not specifically indicated what process it will follow to select Wolfensohn's successor.
According to Andrew Balls of the Financial Times (Feb. 3), "Peter Woicke, outgoing head of the International Finance Corporation, the Bank's private lending arm, said any backroom deal between the US and Europe to replace James Wolfensohn, who steps down in May, would damage the credibility of his successor." Woicke goes on to say, "An open process with a search panel should be the approach for all multilateral institutions. The institutions suffer as a result of the way they pick their leadership."
These concerns are echoed by numerous civil society groups who point to the selection process as an indication of the flawed, undemocratic governance of this multilateral institution. In his article Balls also quotes Manish Bapna, director of the Bank Information Center: "The bank has put good governance at the centre of its policy agenda for developing countries, but the way in which it governs itself leaves much to be desired."
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