Paul Wolfowitz, the President of The World Bank, has apologized for stepping in to negotiate a tax-free $193,000 a year job for his girlfriend. The woman, Shaha Riza, was asked to leave the agenct when Wolfowitz became President.
What is clear from this situation, critics say, is that The World Bank has to change. Bea Edwards of the Government Accountability Project says the bank is run as an old boys network, where things are done largely by tradition, not standard. It is by tradition that the bank president is an American, chosen by the United States and then voted on by the European members. Nancy Birdsall of the Center for Global Development says that should change. To be a respected global organization, The World Bank needs to select its president via a fair and transparent process.
What are your thoughts on the Wolfowitz-World Bank situation? Is the controversy overblown? Are their deeper problems at the bank that need to be addressed?
