Editor's Pick

World Bank

8 October 2006, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
M M Haque, Jeddah, K.S.A
We hear much about giving impunity to the World Bank that advocates transparency and accountability. We hear much about their debt support to build infrastructure and other service sectors' capacities to lift us from our dire poverty status. Thirty-five years on, billions of dollars provided but our conditions remains proverbially as it was, and as the jargon goes stymied by the strange conditionality, ineffective, ill conceived policies and impaired ideas that came with the debts. Their doctrines helped to make things worse in some cases. Many a time they have even threatened us by suspending certain facilities, without considering the consequence.

What is inconceivable is the noise they create . The organisations are owned by the country. Being an employee of any such organisation, how come they dictate in such a humiliating manner? The code of conduct or ethics only resemble a bad corporation's dealing with their minority stakeholders. So we are minority stakeholders and those are the bad corporations.

What is totally outrageous is the minority owner's subservient attitude towards them. Is it because they are inefficient or corrupt? Remember what Joseph Stigliz said ?

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Jute sector reforms, power sector loan suspension both proved to be disastrous.

To improve on our capacity building, first we need to improve on our reading. Since our political masters are happily exploiting our education institutions and squandering on our reading ability, World Bank, IMF and ADB should come forward to help in this area to prove their concern.

Lack of capacity often stymied the implementation of ADP, as is well known to everyone.

A 10 million US dollar or Euro endowment should be created over the next five years to create facilities and train professionals to help the country.

Philanthropists should be encouraged to get involved in it as well. Designing and formulating this endowment should not be a task that cannot be undertaken by our experts.

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