The effectiveness of the Bank’s accountability mechanisms relies on the extent their findings are accepted by Bank management. In three recent cases the Bank president has not responded seriously to their findings. The mechanisms must be made powerful and independent enough to hold the Bank to account.
Troika mulls new loan while Greek government touts economic success story but economic, health and human rights conditions deteriorate. Lagarde admits “miscalculations” occurred in Greek loan, while European parliamentary committee blasts Troika as unaccountable and illegitimate.
As emerging markets suffer renewed bout of financial volatility, risk of worse to come as IMF struggles to provide even-handed global policy coordination.
The Bank is launching a review of the controversial Program-for-Results instrument which was approved in early 2012.
The World Bank and IFC continue push for controversial hydropower, with projects in Guatemala, Democratic Republic of Congo, East Africa, Niger, Pakistan and Macedonia. The Bank warned on long term viability of hydropower, as Uruguay’s state hydro company agreed insurance with the Bank.
The World Bank’s push for ‘climate-smart agriculture’, including a new joint initiative, was criticised by CSOs. An Inspection Panel case on forced labour in Uzbekistan cotton fields was postponed for up to 12 months.
Last year BRICS’ leaders agreed to launch a BRICS development bank. Whether this is considered positive depends in part what questions are being asked. Sameer Dossani of ActionAid International highlights the flaws in the World Bank and IMF, analyses whether a BRICS Bank could be different from these institutions and proposes what it should do and what it should look like.
The World Bank is promoting a “billion dollar map” of minerals in Africa, and continues to invest in fossil fuel extraction. Controversy is tainting Bank-funded mines in Colombia and Haiti as locals resist the extractive projects.
IFC investments in luxury hotels and shopping malls highlight projects with weak development outcomes.
Bretton Woods Project and Oxfam are pleased to invite you to a meeting with leading activists including from Cameroon, India, and Argentina who are visiting London as part of a European lobby tour. 11 March 2014 at 14:30.
Since 2013, the Bretton Woods Project (an ActionAid hosted project), is working together with seven civil society partners as part of an EU-supported project titled “Prompting change in European attitudes toward the IMF’s development role and developing country debt management to help achieve the MDGs” (DCI-NSAED/2012/279-825). The project aims to address the impact of debt and… Read more »
24 January 2014 Attendees World Bank: Gwen Hines, UK World Bank Executive Director UK government: Paul Healey, International Financial Institutions Department, DFID Rachel Grant, International Financial Institutions Department, DFID NGOs: Tim Wainwright, ADD International Graham Gordon, CAFOD Kate Geary, Oxfam Preethi Sundaram, IPPF Monica Stephen, International Alert Bert Schouwenburg, GMB Alison Doig, Christian Aid Alessandra… Read more »
New briefing by ActionAid USA and the Bretton Woods Project highlights research showing that IMF policy advice has undermined a just energy transition since the Paris Agreement was signed.
