Bretton Woods Update No.34 May/June 2003

Iraq - Bank and Fund in no man’s land

News|26 May 2003

The Spring Meetings of the Bank and Fund in mid-April saw sparring between US and European ministers over when and how the institutions might get involved in Iraqi reconstruction. Discussions there and subsequently have focussed on assessments of the economic and development situation, oversight of oil revenues, debt relief and reconstruction finance. read article...

Citizen complaint mechanisms in the World Bank Group What they do and how they work

Inside the inst|25 May 2003

A brief outline of the workings of the Inspection Panel and the Compliance Adviser Ombudsman, the two principal complaint mechanisms of the World Bank. read article...

Bank private sector watchdog calls for stricter policing

News|25 May 2003

In April a review of the social and environmental policies of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) tabled many criticisms of current practice and suggestions for improvement. read article...

Chad-Cameroon: oil and poverty reduction don’t mix

by Samuel Nguiffo

Comment|28 May 2003

Despite World Bank involvement, the Chad Cameroon petroleum project has confirmed that under authoritarian regimes there is a fundamental incompatibility between poverty alleviation objectives and oil exploitation activities. read article...

Circling the wagons: World Bank-IMF-WTO coherence

News|26 May 2003

The heads of the World Bank and IMF spoke to the General Council - the highest-level decision-making body of the World Trade Organisation - on 13 May on the benefits of increasing coherence between their respective agencies. Civil society groups counter that the use of the word 'coherence' is a ruse designed to bring countries in line with a set of flawed economic policies. read article...