IFI governance

News

Parliaments reign in IFIs: International campaign gains momentum

21 September 2004

Over 170 parliamentarians worldwide have signed a petition demanding a greater role in scrutinising the operations of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) within their nations as a way to reassert the sovereignty of legislatures in parliamentary democracy.

IFI governance

News

Above the law? Battle over World Bank immunity in Bangladesh

Civil society groups, opposition parties and the media are calling for the repeal of a bill which would amend the scope of the Bank's immunities under Bangladeshi law.

21 September 2004

Social services

Commentary

Contradictions in the World Banks India Country Assistance Strategy

In August, representatives of social movements, national alliances and civil society organisations met in New Delhi and issued a statement explicitly rejecting the Bank's strategy for India.

21 September 2004 | Guest comment

IFI governance

Analysis

Development Gateway: biased, unaccountable and overpriced?

A study prepared for the Bretton Woods Project has found that the Development Gateway, an internet portal on development issues initiated by the World Bank, presents a biased picture of development debates, lacks independence and is inefficient when compared with other similar initiatives.

22 September 2004 | At Issue

Environment

News

Board accepts management response to report on oil and mining

The management response to the Extractive Industries Review (EIR) - described by development and environment campaigners as "completely inadequate" - was accepted by the board of the World Bank at the beginning of August. The management response rejected calls in the review for a phase-out of support for oil and coal, made merely symbolic gestures towards increasing support for renewables, and watered down language on the rights of indigenous peoples to oversee extractive developments on their l

21 September 2004

Knowledge

News

Next World Development Report: Equity and development

An outline of the Bank's flagship annual report, the World Development Report, which will focus on inequality was released in August.

21 September 2004

Trade

News

Report on investment “promotes interests of the north”

Researchers at the Geneva-based South Centre have argued that the Bank's latest World Development Report, oversells the benefits of foreign direct investment, advocates the restriction of government policy space, and promotes the agenda of northern countries in trade and investment agreements.

21 September 2004

Conditionality

News

Debt cancellation? Or an exercise in book-keeping?

Talk of full multilateral debt cancellation has been in the air since the June G8 summit against the backdrop of the impending end of the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative. The US Treasury Department is apparently pushing for full multilateral debt cancellation and could announce this at the G8 ministers meeting ahead of the Bank and Fund annual meetings.

21 September 2004

IFI governance

News

All sides agree urgent need for governance reforms

Urging a move away from shareholders "micromanaging the Fund", former IMF secretary and Counsellor to the managing director Leo Van Houtven has argued for reforms.

21 September 2004

Conditionality

News

Country ownership of PRSPs is restricted to “officialdom”

The IMF's Independent Evaluation Office recent review of the poverty reduction strategy paper concedes to shortcomings in the design of the initiative.

21 September 2004

Environment

News

Two decades of environmental and social protection policies at risk

Bank watchers fear that a new plan to harmonise Bank environmental and social safeguard policies with national rules will sacrifice years of hard-won policy provisions "in one big sweep".

21 September 2004

Rights

News

Nam Theun 2: Decision pending serious problems remain

The deadline for the Bank's decision to finance the controversial Nam Theun 2 hydroelectric power project in Lao PDR is fast approaching. However, long-term opponents of the project predict that its environmental and social outcomes will be disastrous, and criticize the current consultation process as fundamentally flawed.

21 September 2004

Rights

News

Private sector safeguard review "fundamentally flawed"

Civil society organisations have expressed alarm at the process recently launched by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) - the World Bank Group's private sector lending arm- to overhaul its safeguard policies.

21 September 2004

IFI governance

Background

Information disclosure at the World Bank Group

Currently both the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) - the Bank's private sector lending arm - are revising their information disclosure policies

21 September 2004 | Inside the institutions

IFI governance

News

IMF’s “role put into question”: Argentina crisis evaluation

The IMF's Independent Evalution Office has found that the Argentine crisis has done sizeable damage to the Fund's reputation: associating it with inappropriate policies, creating a perception that it lacked even-handedness in dealing with member countries, and putting its role in signalling sound policy environments into question.

21 September 2004

IFI governance

News

Fawlty Powers: Sixty years of the World Bank and IMF

An alliance of eight UK-based development and environment NGOs are organising events throughout September and October to raise awareness of the vital role to be played by the UK government in reforming the Bank and the Fund.

17 September 2004