WASHINGTON – World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz violated the terms of his contract when he arranged a raise for his companion, and the agency should consider firing him, a panel of seven agency directors yesterday concluded, according to Bloomberg News.
In a report to the full, 24-member board, the panel said Wolfowitz broke agency rules and questioned whether he “will be able to provide the leadership needed to ensure that the bank continues to operate to the fullest extent possible.” The panel also criticized his public response, which it said “turned an internal governance matter into an ugly public relations campaign.” The panel acknowledged, however, that the ethics committee’s guidance in the matter “was not a model of clarity.”
Wolfowitz had sought a ruling from the World Bank ethics committee before arranging a raise for Shaha Riza, 52, and says he was following its orders. He was to appear today before the full board to defend himself.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
“The tone of the report makes it much harder to be resolved in a way in which everybody can save face,” Ted Truman, a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington and a former assistant Treasury secretary, told Bloomberg. “The committee has backed the bank’s board into a corner.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been lobbying members on behalf of Wolfowitz, who before being named to the World Bank had served in the U.S. Defense Department in both Bush administrations.
