Hello Friends!
Wow! For Our dear Finance Minister to even have a shot at this is some achievement on its own...
Today, the World Bank is expected to announce its next president and the race for the post has been narrowed down to two individuals, the Nigerian Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Iweala, and the United States’ -backed candidate, Dr. Jim Yong Kim.
However, there are strong indications that the US and Europe have perfected plans to ensure that Kim emerges as the President of the Bretton Woods institution.
It was learnt that though a meeting was convened by the bank on Friday to discuss the issue of the competence of both candidates, the US and its allies ensured that it (issue) was eventually not touched at the meeting.
“We feel that the strategy is a political tool to ensure that the American candidate becomes the next World Bank President since they (US and Europe) have great influence,” a source close to Okonjo-Iweala told our correspondent on Sunday.
However, there are strong indications that the US and Europe have perfected plans to ensure that Kim emerges as the President of the Bretton Woods institution.
It was learnt that though a meeting was convened by the bank on Friday to discuss the issue of the competence of both candidates, the US and its allies ensured that it (issue) was eventually not touched at the meeting.
“We feel that the strategy is a political tool to ensure that the American candidate becomes the next World Bank President since they (US and Europe) have great influence,” a source close to Okonjo-Iweala told our correspondent on Sunday.
“All of us agree that the World Bank and all international financial institutions would enjoy considerably greater legitimacy and stronger management if their leadership were selected in an open, transparent, merit-based, and competitive manner rather than simply appointed in line with understandings that no longer reflect the world as it is today,” the letter reads.
In addition to her experience in the Nigerian government, Okonjo-Iweala logged more than two decades at the World Bank, eventually rising to the second position.
Some have argued that Okonjo-Iweala, as an economist with degrees from Harvard and Massachusettes Institute of Technology, is better fit for the bank job than Kim. Kim is a doctor who built his reputation developing public health schemes for poor countries.
“Dr. Kim is an impressive guy, but the main concern I have about him is he’s a specialist — he’s very narrow,” Uri Dardush, a former World Bank economist who has endorsed Okonjo-Iweala, said.
He added that she had “a considerable edge” in qualifications over Ocampo and Kim.
“Health issues are very important, but they’re just one of maybe 20 sectors that the bank is engaged in, and the heart of what the bank is engaged in is economic growth,” Dardush said.
The World Bank was created along with the IMF in 1944 to help the Allied powers shape the post-World War II economic order. It now includes 187 shareholder states, offering loans and grants as well as technical expertise for projects around the world.
Its presidency became available when Robert Zoellick, a former deputy secretary of state who also served as the international vice- chairman at Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), announced that he would depart when his term ends in June.
Some in Washington have argued that an American World Bank head is important to ensure continued Congressional funding for the institution. Beyond the Beltway, Kim has also garnered support from leaders like Rwandan President Paul Kagame and American development economist Jeffrey Sachs.
Culled from The Punch.
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Simply Cheska...
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