[stop-imf] Bretton Woods Update - 60 years; Zambia comment;high-risk hypocrisy

[Robert Weissman]

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


Dear Bretton Woods Update subscriber,

This special issue of the Bretton Woods Update marks sixty years since the
founding of the World Bank and IMF, combining retrospective analysis and
the latest news on controversial projects and policies.  (For a calendar
of events, relevant documents and key contacts for the Spring Meetings,
see http://www.ifiwatchnet.org )

As the Bank and Fund mark sixty years, change comes here at the Bretton
Woods Project.  Alex Wilks is leaving his position as Coordinator of the
Bretton Woods Project. In June he is moving to Brussels to run the
European Network on Debt and Development.  Interested candidates for the
Coordinator position should see http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/jobs

HIGHLIGHTS UPDATE 39

The World Bank and IMF at sixty: plus =E7a change?
Sixty years after their founding, the World Bank and IMF remain the
dominant institutions in development but face determined opposition to
their role in shaping globalisation.
<http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/sixtyyears>

60th anniversary spring meetings protest plans
A week of action is planned to target the 60th anniversary spring meetings
of the World Bank and IMF - April 16-25 have been declared international
days of action.
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/article.shtml?cmd[126]=3Dx-126-42244

Comment:  The World Bank=92s high-risk hypocrisy, by Peter Bosshard, IRN th=
e
World Bank is not serious about the social and environmental policies it
trumpets at global conferences. Senior World Bank staff in its India
office indicated that they neither know nor care about procedures that are
supposed to make its infrastructure lending socially responsible. This
represents institutional hypocrisy.
<http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/wbhypocrisy>

Comment:  Life under the IMF=92s magnifying glass: A Zambian civil servant
chafes at
the collar
The Fund takes to micro-management in Zambia to ensure compliance with
belt tightening measures, threatening civil unrest.
<http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/commentzambia>

At Issue:  World Bank, IMF: Helping peace or creating conditions for war?
Recent involvement in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq has put World
Bank and IMF post-conflict operations in the spotlight. While some believe
multilateral finance is essential, others argue that the Bank and the Fund
are acting primarily as pawns of powerful diplomatic and economic
interests. <http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/conflictatissue>

Congolese groups unite to demand scrutiny of forest policies
NGOs in the Democratic Republic of Congo have allied to challenge
industrial logging in their country's rainforests. In February they
appealed to the World Bank and other agencies to halt a plan which would
make up to 60 million hectares of rainforest available to logging
companies in the coming years.
<http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/congoforest>

Pakistani hunger strikers seek reparations for damaging project
In March Pakistani activists observed a hunger strike in front of the
World Bank offices in Islamabad. The strikers pointed out that Bank-backed
projects have caused serious damage to their livelihoods and the coastal
ecology and called for the loan to be suspended.
<http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/pakistandrainage>

Disengaging from the Fund: possible and worthwhile?
Some countries have clearly benefited from defying the Fund and as it is
clearly often wrong it should have competitors, such as regional monetary
funds, which can provide alternative advice and funding.
<http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/fundfailure>

IMF selection mess only a symptom
The political machinations laid bare by the selection process for the head
of the IMF are symptomatic of the troubling democratic deficit in the
Bretton Woods institutions.
<http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/article.shtml?cmd[126]=3Dx-126-42240>

Parliaments: the missing link in democratising national policy making
Across sub-saharan Africa, good governance efforts depend on the
strengthening of parliamentary democracy. In sharp contrast country
relations with IFIs reveal weak parliamentary engagement.
<http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/parlscrutiny>

World Bank pushes Malawi agriculture privatisation
World Bank manoeuvres to ensure parliamentary approval of a controversial
agriculture privatisation policy demonstrates the continued influence of
the Bank and the problems with Poverty and Social Impact Analysis.
<http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/malawiag>


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Jeff Powell
Communications and Research Officer
Bretton Woods Project
Critical Voices on the IMF and the World Bank
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