Category Archives: Candidates

Latin American CSOs hold WB EDs to account for their vote

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Below is a guest post by María José Romero of the Latin American network of NGOs Latindadd, with its secretariat in Lima, Peru.

In a letter sent on April 5 to World Bank Executive Directors representing Latin American countries, Latin American NGOs Fundar, DAR and Latindadd asked about the criteria for the selection of the new President of the institution. José Antonio Ocampo, the Colombian candidate to lead the World Bank has already met 18 of the 25 Bank’s Executive Directors and on Tuesday 10 April (today) the Board of Executive Directors as a whole will interview him.

In an ideal world each and every Latin American country should support Ocampo’s candidacy. As Kevin Gallagher says, “if the decision is finally based on merit, as it should be, Ocampo will win: he is far and away better than any on the list of credible names, including President Barack Obama’s nominee, Jim Yong Kim.” Continue reading →

“the World Bank is not a health charity”

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A very convincing argument in support of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as President of the World Bank, at least me-thinks, by Maha Atal in Forbes Magazine;

“By far the most important reason to appoint Okonjo-Iweala is that she has experience on both sides of the table in the international lending negotiations that are the bread and butter of the Bank’s work. Continue reading →

A fairer assessment by the Wall Street Journal

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Unlike the usual tirades against anything pro-development and the blind support for Paul Dundes Wolfowitz and the dismantling of the World Bank, typically offered by the editorials of the Wall Street Journal, as in this one few days ago’ “Jim Kim to the World Bank: The Dartmouth president is better than the bank deserves.”

Sudeep Reddy in today’s edition offers a more reasonable assessment of Dr. Kim titled  ” U.S.’s World Bank Pick Draws Criticism”