The Pakistani prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf controversially appointed his son-in-law Raja Azeemul Haq as World Bank executive director (ED) in December replacing current ED Javed Talat whose term had expired.
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IFI governance
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Kim launches first World Bank restructuring salvo
After winning over staff and shareholders in his first six months as World Bank president, Jim Yong Kim launched a publicly unexplained reorganisation of senior management at the Bank in late December, ahead of an expected strategy overhaul and deeper restructuring.
Accountability
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ICSID billion dollar cases prompt criticism
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), an arm of
IFI governance
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IMF names investment banker as Western Hemisphere department head
Former Mexican deputy finance minister Alejandro Werner is to head the IMF's Western Hemisphere department overseeing Latin America.
IFI governance
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World Bank accused of racial discrimination
An online petition launched by an international group of current and former Bank staffers, justice for blacks, calls upon Human Rights Watch, the Bank’s governing board and the US government to investigate the Bank’s flagrant inability to uphold its policy of “zero-tolerance policy for discrimination”.
IFI governance
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"Cosmetic" changes to IMF governance
The IMF is about to embark on a new round of negotiations over governance reform, but acrimony persists and already-agreed changes remain unimplemented.
Accountability
Background
World Bank corporate scorecard
Every six months the World Bank issues a corporate scorecard, which is submitted each Autumn to the Bank's annual meetings. The scorecard is supposed to "provide a snapshot of the Bank's overall performance, including its business modernisation, in the context of development results." It is compiled by Bank staff to "facilitat[e] strategic dialogue between management and the board on progress made and areas that need attention."
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Kim's World Bank strategy: real change or "PR exercise"?
The World Bank's new president Jim Yong Kim set out his vision for the institution at the Bank's annual meetings in mid October, but his desire to build a 'solutions' bank and end absolute poverty comes with few details or big changes at the Bank. Next year's replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA) will put Kim's vision to the test.
Accountability
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Bretton Woods Project submission to IEO evaluation
We are very pleased to see the IEO continue its excellent work reaching out to stakeholders, external parties and shareholders, while both considering its work programme and conducting evaluations. This is a vital component of the IEO’s approach that ensures well-informed and well-considered analysis.
IFI governance
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IMF lending in Europe unprecedented, programmes failing
The contradictions revealed by IMF involvement in eurozone bailouts, identified in your article ("Less Cash, More Impact", The Economist, October 5th), reflect a crisis of legitimacy at the Fund.
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5 October 2023
World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings 2023
4 October 2023
The Bretton Woods Observer: Autumn 2023
4 October 2023
The IMF and World Bank talk good governance, but walk with state- capturers
From South Africa to Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, the Bank and Fund have demonstrated they are not appropriate allies to address the scale of the crisis the world is facing, especially, given their record.