13 April 2007
Danny Glover joined civil society representatives and activists at a press conference just blocks from the World bank on Friday afternoon, lending his voice to the growing calls for change at the institution.
Speakers publicly shamed the institution for its controversial use of conditionality in its lending, and for its continued investment in dirty energy technologies like fossil fuels.
“The World Bank provides some $25 billion a year to developing countries in loans and grants. In Africa, not only is this money not helping people, it is tying them to bad economic policies and devastating projects that hurt the chances for meaningful growth and development. Meaningful change on a global level means holding the Bank and other institutions accountable for the damage that they have done in Africa and around the world." said Danny Glover has said.
"The World Bank and IMF are institutions in crisis," Karen Showalter of the Bank Information Center stated. "High risk projects like mines, dams and oil pipelines have often caused disasterous environmental and social impacts - displacing communities and diverting profits into the hands of the privileged few."
"Paul Wolfowitz hasn't just been giving favors to his girlfriend, he's been giving them to the oil industry as well," Graham Saul of Oil Change International stated. The Bank must stop funding fossil fuels, he continued.
The calls come amidst a frenzy of attention around World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz's questionable involvement in salary raises given to his former girlfriend, Shaha Ali Riza. The World Bank Staff Association called for his resignation over the matter on Friday.
Press release
April 12, 2007
For immediate Release
Press Contacts:
Ruth Castel-Branco, 50 Years Is Enough, +1 202 489 2273
Karen Showalter, Bank Information Center, +1 202 624 0632
Martin Gordon, Christian Aid, +44(0)7715 735 120
DANNY GLOVER JOINS CIVIL SOCIETY CALLS TO PUT WORLD BANK ON TRIAL OVER ECONOMIC POLICIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Danny Glover adds his voice to the growing calls for change at the World Bank. He will be speaking at a press conference at 12:00pm this Friday, 13 April, at the Hotel Lombardy 2019 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W, about the impacts of World Bank and IMF policies in West Africa and around the world.
“The World Bank provides some $25 billion a year to developing countries in loans and grants. In Africa, not only is this money not helping people, it is tying them to bad economic policies and devastating projects that hurt the chances for meaningful growth and development. Meaningful change on a global level means holding the Bank and other institutions accountable for the damage that they have done in Africa and around the world." said Danny Glover. Glover, who along with Louverture Films partner Joslyn Barnes, executive produced the recently released movie Bamako which boldly addresses the debt crisis issue and puts the World Bank and IMF on trial in the West African nation of Mali.
Activists claim that the World Bank is a leading funder of climate change. “The World Bank must be held accountable for the social and environmental impacts of its lending,” said Martin Gordon of Christian Aid UK. “If the Bank fails to stop using economic policy conditions and continues to push fossil fuel projects which contribute global warming, European governments should consider permanently redirecting funding away from the Bank through other mechanisms.” The campaign statement around which European groups are organizing is available online at www.worldbankcampaigneurope.org.
“In Chad, development policies are still dictated by the IMF and the World Bank,” said Delphine Djiraibe of Chadian Association for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights. “As a result, resource extraction benefiting big international companies is moving ahead fine, while thousands of people have no access to basic services. This is a travesty for which these institutions must be held accountable.”
“While their own reports are documenting the failure of the neoliberal model, the IMF and World Bank continue to force bad development policies on the rest of the world,” said Ruth Castel-Branco of the 50 Years Is Enough Network. “Why should we continue to put good money after bad policies, especially when we in the U.S. are suffering from these same policies. Our schools and hospitals are being destroyed by privatization at the same time that the number of U.S. billionaires is approaching 400.”
Activists claim that the World Bank’s rhetoric on climate change has not had impacts on its portfolio. “Fueling climate change is a profitable and growing portion of the Bank's portfolio,” said Graham Saul of Oil Change International. “The Bank Group's private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, invested more then US$500 million in extractive industries in FY 2006, a 60% increase over FY05, and about half of this money went directly into the pockets of oil companies, who are already among the most profitable companies in the world without this public subsidy."
After the press conference at 1.30, Danny Glover will be participating in a photo shoot with a large check from European governments only cashable if the Bank changes its policies immediately following the shoot.