World Bank Critics Lament Departure of Wolfowitz

Ideologue Blinded by Self-Importance was “Appropriate Symbol” for Institution

May 18, 2007
by 50 Years Is Enough

May 18, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sameer Dossani (202) 340 0216; Ruth Castel-Branco (202) 489 2273; Njoki Njehu +254-723-229-426

Long-time critics of the World Bank responded to yesterday’s announced resignation of Paul Wolfowitz as its President with mixed feelings.

“Paul Wolfowitz, now exposed as a corrupt liar, has been an invaluable asset in exposing the fundamental illegitimacy and institutional corruption of the World Bank,” said Sameer Dossani, Executive Director of the 50 Years Is Enough Network, which campaigns against both the Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “Though we are not sad to see him go, we would like to take a minute to thank him for bringing to light the rampant corruption, favoritism and double standards that help make these institutions tick.”

A report released by a World Bank board committee on Monday detailed how Wolfowitz had consistently put his own interests ahead of those of the institution and refused to accept even a portion of responsibility for the chaos and gridlock that have overwhelmed the institution since the scandal over his unorthodox employment practices erupted in March.

Renowned South African poet and anti-apartheid campaigner Dennis Brutus said, “Wolfowitz’s arrogance, his insistence that any problems were the result of his colleagues’ actions, never his own, were a perfect match for the World Bank, which has always refused to take responsibility for its own disastrous policies and projects, laying blame instead with the borrowing country, even though the common denominator in so many botched projects, violations of human rights, and failed policy packages has been the presence of the World Bank. The combination of war and economic crimes for which he was responsible, made Wolfowitz an appropriate symbol for the institution.”

Kenyan activist Njoki Njehu, Executive Director of Daughters of Mumbi Global Resource Center, elaborated: “If you ask me, Wolfowitz’s ethics were a perfect mirror of the Bank’s. Just as Wolfowitz plunged the Bank into disrepute and refused any accountability, so the Bank has been damaging our peoples and walking away without a scratch. The failures of the World Bank’s neo-liberal ideology, such as privatization of basic services, user fees for primary education and health, and the rapid deregulation of trade and investment, have been measured in death, marginalization, and impoverishment. Let’s hope people look beyond the sensational scandal to see just how right Wolfowitz really was for the World Bank.”

Ruth Castel-Branco, also of the 50 Years Is Enough Network noted an even more practical reason to regret Wolfowitz’s departure: “So long as Wolfowitz was at the helm, little work could get done inside the World Bank and that means fewer opportunities to damage client countries. Had Wolfowitz stayed, we would have been nearly assured of a major drop in contributions to the institution, further limiting its influence. Our task now will be to make sure the lessons learned from this episode make policy-makers recognize the dangers in giving this very flawed institution so much power. If we do our work well, even with Wolfowitz gone, his example will persuade those with power to defang the Bank.”

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