USA: Pressure grows on World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz

As World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz continued his schedule ahead of the weekend spring meetings in Washington D.C., as pressure for him to resign intensified on Friday. The World Bank's board wrangled over whether his approval of a high-paying promotion for his girlfriend bent staff rules. The controversy over the promotion overshadowed the start of meetings in Washington of finance and aid ministers from rich and developing countries. World Bank staff and global development organizations called for Wolfowitz to step down as anger increased after his public apology and acknowledgement on Thursday that he erred in the handling of the promotion of Shaha Riza, a former senior communications officer in the bank's Middle East Department. Bank staff have expressed their outrage on internal Internet bulletin boards, which included calls for Wolfowitz to resign. The outpouring showed lingering distrust by many staff and resentment over his close ties to the Bush administration and his role as an architect of the Iraq war while he was U.S. deputy defence secretary. The case has been an embarrassment to Wolfowitz, who has campaigned for sound governance and against corruption since taking up the post in 2005. Finance ministers in Washington for the meetings refused to prejudge Wolfowitz's actions or say whether he should stay or go, saying it was a matter for the World Bank's board. The White House, which nominated Wolfowitz for the job despite objections by some member countries, said it expected he would remain as bank president. Dana Perino told reporters that; "The president has full confidence in Paul Wolfowitz. He has done a remarkable job at the World Bank where they are working to lift people up from poverty around the world, he's apologized for the matter and his board is undergoing an internal review. And we expect him to remain as World Bank president, he has the president's support." The World Bank's board, made up of representatives of the bank's 185 member countries, failed to reach a final decision on the issue overnight as it focused on the question of whether Wolfowitz, 63, gave preferential treatment to Riza. Riza was assigned outside the bank to work with the U.S. State Department, but remained on the bank's payroll after Wolfowitz took office. "The executive directors will move expeditiously to reach a conclusion on possible actions to take," the board said in a statement issued in the early hours of Friday morning, adding directors would consider "all relevant governance implications for the bank." The board also said that Wolfowitz signed off on the promotion and salary increase for Riza without prior approval by the board's ethics committee. A board source told Reuters that directors were buying time as they clarified bank rules in an unprecedented situation. The Group of Seven (G7) finance chiefs met at the United States Treasury on Friday afternoon. Wolfowitz was not present.

ITN Source | April 14, 2007

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