Wolfowitz leaving is seriously damaging to the World Bank’s credibility in my opinion.
This is a good article about the World Bank and its corruption problems.
For example, one World Bank employee, with a salary of $56,000 or so bought a $455,000 home in 1993. Had $200,000 in renovations done to it, and financed the building of a $300,000 home for a female friend in Africa. Locals in one of the African countries he worked in reported to the World Bank that he was receiving kickbacks and bribes in brown paper bags, and the World Bank didn’t even open an investigation into him until years later. When they did, they said there was no evidence of wrongdoing, and commended him for his work.
It wasn’t until Wolfowitz took over that the case got reopened and the crook was exposed for what he really was, someone who was getting rich off of money designed to help people who are living on $1/a day, and he has the nerve to illegally acquire vast sums of it?
What did Wolfowitz do in comparison? Well, he took over an institution where his girlfriend worked, it wasn’t like she had the job because she was dating Wolfy, she’d been working there for years, dating back to the Clinton administration. She had to be moved out of the World Bank to avoid impropriety Wolfowitz was totally on-board with this, and even wanted to recuse himself from decision making because of the possibility of him being seen as acting inappropriately.
If you read the article I linked, you’ll read about a German company convicted of bribing officials in Lesotho to get construction contracts, the World Bank continued to award contracts to this German company before, during, and after the trial. Even after the court’s verdict was upheld in a Lesotho appeals court and its fine increased, the World Bank still didn’t stop sending funds. In fact, they still haven’t, and the company is responsible for about $5m worth of World Bank contracts.
One World Back corruption auditor exposed glaring corruption problems with an Indian health initiative. After a report which highlighted various incidents of corruption and mismanagement in the program, he goes on to recommend the World Bank continue funding. It’s that kind of shit that should be pitted, not Wolfowitz (at least not for his actions at the World Bank.) Oh yeah, when Wolfowitz went against the auditor’s advice and refused to fund the program until anti-corruption controls were put in place, the executive board rioted. What kind of organization that works to allocate public funds consistently refuses to make much of its work public knowledge? All of the members of the Executive Board are bound by non-disclosure agreements about what goes on in their meetings, any allegations of misconduct or arguments for or against funding corrupt contractors is sealed and never revealed to the public. And the board itself is apparently “corruption friendly” going so far as to openly rebel against the head of the World Bank for having the nerve to stop funding a health program the World Bank’s own auditors said was rampant with corruption and was giving mothers and newborns drugs which were either substandard or actually dangerous to mother and child.
Many former World Bank employees get rich on consulting deals with the World Bank, prior to 2004 some were making $4,000/day consulting with the World Bank, many were making $1,500+ per day.
Wolfowitz’ girlfriend was in a situation of being forced out a job where, by all accounts, she performed admirably. In what non-governmental situation where you have long term, salaried employees who probably have extensive employment agreements can you just boot them out because the new CEO has a personal relationship with them and give them no severance of any kind?
She was obviously qualified enough to make something like $130,000/year at the World Bank. Is it really a stretch that her total compensation, including money from her new job at State + continuing money from the World Bank payroll equaling $195,000 a year was really that out of line? These kinds of set ups appear to be part and parcel “normal” at the World Bank.
When you have persons who have been observed taking kick backs and living vastly beyond their means not being investigated for years, but Wolfowitz being crucified over something that might, possibly, be somewhat inappropriate you have what I call a double standard.
Oh, yeah the World Bank’s board of executive directors on 5/18 cleared Wolfowitz of any wrongdoing (the alleged wrongdoing being following the executive board’s advice on how to handle the situation.)