Five Former Bank Governors Speak Out

"At stake is the Bank’s ability to carry out its mission"

Letter to Financial Times from former World Bank Governors
May 2 2007

"Mr Wolfowitz has compromised the trust in the integrity of his leadership and the credibility of the bank’s promotion of transparency and accountability in public affairs. In the interest of multilateral co-operation for the alleviation of poverty, Mr Wolfowitz should resign."

Domingo CAVALLO, Former Minister of Finance, Argentina
Rubens RICUPERO, Former Minister of Finance, Brazil
Eduardo ANINAT, Former Minister of Finance, Chile
Rodrigo BOTERO, Former Minister of Finance, Colombia
Pedro ASPE, Former Minister of Finance, Mexico

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Consequences if he stays

What the Board of Governors said about Wolfowitz:

"We have to ensure that the Bank can effectively carry out its mandate and maintain its credibility and reputation as well as the motivation of its staff. The current situation is of great concern to all of us. We endorse the Board's actions in looking into this matter and we asked it to complete its work. We expect the Bank to adhere to a high standard of internal governance."

The following points summarize some of the most costly consequences if Wolfowitz is not forced to resign:

· Deterioration in Reputation... The tarnished reputation of the institution will not be restored without the closure that Wolfowitz's departure would bring. The brand of the World Bank has already been damaged under Wolfowitz's management style and his repeated difficulties with the Board and his managers. The Bank will find itself in a position where it has greater difficulty in attracting the high-quality staff needed to carry out the Bank's operations. It is highly likely that if Wolfowitz were to be retained, many long-serving Bank staff would leave the organization given the high levels of distrust and moral outrage at his behavior and leadership style.
· Loss of Credibility on Governance and Anti-Corruption...
· Breach of Staff's Trust...
· Diminished Ethical Standards of Top Management...
· Lost Confidence of Board of Directors...
· Department of Integrity...
· Double Standard of Ethics...
· Relationship with Development Partners...
· IDA 15 Replenishment...

Scandal threatens World Bank's role

Financial Times

Krishna Guha and Eoin Callan in Washington
April 23 2007

The independent agency charged with assessing the effectiveness of the World Bank has issued a searing indictment of Paul Wolfo-witz's leadership, warning that the situation at the bank risks causing "irreparable harm to worldwide efforts in poverty reduction and sustainable development".

In a formal statement seen by the Financial Times, which the bank's board will consider this week, the Independent Evaluation Group called for "swift changesin management and aconcerted effort to restore credibility".

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See Comments for IEG Statement

European NGOs back resignation

40 European civil society groups backed calls for Wolfowitz's resignation in an open letter to European development and finance ministers today.
19 April 2007

Dear Ministers,

European civil society backs Wolfowitz resignation calls and urges comprehensive reform of World Bank governance...

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Eurodad.org