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World Bank

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The World Bank Group, founded in 1944, is "one of the world's largest sources of development assistance. The Bank, which provided US$19.5 billion in loans to its client countries in fiscal year 2002, is now working in more than 100 developing economies, bringing a mix of finance and ideas to improve living standards and eliminate the worst forms of poverty. For each of its clients, the Bank works with government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to formulate assistance strategies. Its country offices worldwide deliver the Bank's program in countries, liaise with government and civil society, and work to increase understanding of development issues.

"The World Bank is owned by more than 184 member countries whose views and interests are represented by a Board of Governors and a Washington-based Board of Directors. Member countries are shareholders who carry ultimate decision-making power in the World Bank.

"The Bank uses its financial resources, its highly trained staff, and its extensive knowledge base to individually help each developing country onto a path of stable, sustainable, and equitable growth. The main focus is on helping the poorest people and the poorest countries...."

From web site for the World Bank Group: http://www.worldbank.org/

Contents

Coal Project Plans

In 2007, World Bank President Robert Zoellick committed the lending institution to "significantly step up our assistance" to fight climate change through its loans. Instead, the World Bank increased its financing of fossil-fuel projects worldwide. One example is the coal-powered Tata Ultra Mega power plant in western India, a $4.14 billion project scheduled to go online in 2012. When it is fully operational, it will become one of the world's 50 largest greenhouse-gas emitters and "will emit more carbon dioxide annually than the nation of Tunisia," according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The World Bank decided to provide "$450 million in loans and guarantees for the project and also will buy a $50 million stake in it." At the same time the U.S. insisted that developing countries cut greenhouse gas emissions, the World Bank -- over which it has tremendous influence -- supported projects that do the opposite. "The World Bank's lending record does not match up to Zoellick's rhetoric," says Heike Mainhardt-Gibbsof the Bank Information Center, a World Bank watchdog group. "The institution is simply not slowing down its significant funding to fossil-fuel projects that will emit greenhouse gases for 20 to 40 years."[1]

Perspectives on the World Bank

A Latin American view is provided on 20 November 2003 by Oscar Ugarteche. Pontifical Catholic University of Peru [1] excerpts therefrom:

  • The debt issue has returned to remind humanity that the solutions posed during the 1980s have been to no avail.
  • The consequence of this on the result of the world can be viewed in the failure of the promises made by the IMF/WB and other orthodox economists that assured that the implementation of what we know as neoliberal polices would result in an increase in the rate of growth, a reduction of external credit dependence, a surplus in trade and an increase in domestic savings. The conditions set for this were that the developing countries follow the ten points indicated by the Washington Consensus plus one further point added by the Theory of Public Choice in terms of reducing the State to as little as possible. Williamson stated recently that he did not appreciate that as a recommendation in the list of the policies to be pursed, which had consensus in 1989. The reduction of the State is present in the 1987 World Development Report of the WB as part of the set of policies that were later discussed for the Consensus.
  • The debt problems must be then seen as an instrument for the introduction of policies and an extortion of Governments into following them
  • This requires a reform of the WB/IMF and a change in their charters, were respect to human rights in all its dimensions come in front. Their failure during the 1980s and 1990s as well as their support of dictatorships in the name of the neutrality of technicians and efficiency, warrants the request for the reform of these institutions. They passed from Project based lending to Policy based lending in the mid 1980s without recognizing their failure in project based lending and the problems they had generated with them. The next step is from Policy based lending to Human rights based lending with recognition of the mistakes made and the failure of the promise to be made real. The existing globalization resulting from these are rejected en masse in the streets everywhere.
  • The race to the bottom in wages in order to compete with China must be put to an end with a specialization in each country that complements the order lines of production existing in the country, thus creating cluster economies for the benefit of domestic capital accumulation. Wages must be brought in line with the fight against poverty. Miserable wages produce misery.

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