[stop-imf] Bretton Woods Update May-June 03

[Robert Weissman]

From: Bretton Woods Project <subs@brettonwoodsproject.org>

This is to alert you to:

* the latest issue of the Bretton Woods Update for May-June 2003 -
including commentary from Cameroon on the Chad-Cameroon pipeline; and

* the latest of a new BWP feature called 'at issue'--concise analyses of
the key issues involved in complex policy debates.  This third 'at
issue' looks at the potential of a number of reviews of information
disclosure policies at the Bank and Fund.

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
AT ISSUE

G-7, civil society press for IMF, World Bank transparency reforms

The Bank and Fund have responded by issuing mountains of documentation
and offering innumerable meetings and consultations. But critics are
still not satisfied, pointing to the difficulty for people to find and
interpret many of the documents produced, and to the opacity of the
institutions' key decision-making bodies.
PDF: http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/topic/governance/transparency.PDF
html: http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/update/article.shtml?cmd%5B126%5D=
=3Dx-126-4569

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
UPDATE 34

The Update is now available in 8-page fully-formatted PDF and HTML
versions at http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/update

______________________________________
Bretton Woods Update 34, May/June 2003

HIGHLIGHTS

Iraq - Bank and Fund in no man=92s land
The Spring Meetings of the Bank and Fund in mid-April saw sparring
between US and European ministers over when and how the institutions
might get involved in Iraqi reconstruction. Discussions there and
subsequently have focussed on assessments of the economic and
development situation, oversight of oil revenues, debt relief and
reconstruction finance.
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/update/article.shtml?cmd[126]=3Dx-126-44=
19

Bank private sector watchdog calls for stricter policing
In April a review of the social and environmental policies of the
International Finance Corporation (IFC) tabled many criticisms of
current practice and suggestions for improvement.
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/update/article.shtml?cmd[126]=3Dx-126-44=
20

Comment: Chad-Cameroon: oil and poverty reduction don=92t mix
Despite World Bank involvement, the Chad Cameroon petroleum project has
confirmed that under authoritarian regimes there is a fundamental
incompatibility between poverty alleviation objectives and oil
exploitation activities.
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/update/article.shtml?cmd[126]=3Dx-126-44=
21
En fran=E7ais: http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/update/article.shtml?cmd[=
126]=3Dx-126-4529

Circling the wagons: World Bank-IMF-WTO coherence
The heads of the World Bank and IMF spoke to the General Council - the
highest-level decision-making body of the World Trade Organisation - on
13 May on the benefits of increasing coherence between their respective
agencies. Civil society groups counter that the use of the word
'coherence' is a ruse designed to bring countries in line with a set of
flawed economic policies.
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/update/article.shtml?cmd[126]=3Dx-126-44=
23

Debate continues over services report
As the window for consultation on the draft of the World Development
Report 2004 (WDR), Making Services Work for the Poor, draws to a close,
debate continues over the roles of the private/public sector,
decentralisation and larger issues of political economy.
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/update/article.shtml?cmd[126]=3Dx-126-44=
25

=91Parliamentary Front=92 on IFIs
Members of the Brazilian parliament have called on their colleagues to
form a parliamentary front on IFIs and the national banking system.
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/update/article.shtml?cmd[126]=3Dx-126-44=
30

Inside the institutions: Citizen complaint mechanisms in the World Bank
Group
A brief outline of the workings of the Inspection Panel and the
Compliance Adviser Ombudsman, the two principal complaint mechanisms of
the World Bank.
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/update/article.shtml?cmd[126]=3Dx-126-44=
36


This is a selection of stories in the May/June 2003 issue of the Update.
For a full Update 34 contents listing see:
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/update/34/index.html

The fully formatted PDF version of the Update can be downloaded at:
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/update/34/bwupdt34.pdf

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In peace and solidarity,

Jeff Powell
Communications and Research Officer
The Bretton Woods Project
Critical Voices on the IMF and the World Bank
Hamlyn House, Macdonald Road
London, N19 5PG, UK
Tel: +44-20-7561-7546
Fax: +44-20-7272-0899