-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- Dave Hartley http://www.asheville-computer.com/dave Website: http://www.50years.org Congressionally Appointed Panel Acknowledges Failures of IMF and World Bank to Help the World's Poor, But Lack of Accountability Remains Unanswered WASHINGTON, DC, March 8, 2000 A coalition of development and environmental advocates today said a new report by a Congressionally appointed commission is a welcome acknowledgement that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group are largely failing in their mission to address world poverty and economic stability, and need major overhaul. However, the groups say that while the report contains some laudable recommendations, it fails to address other fundamental problems. According to the report, written by a panel of economists headed by Allan Meltzer, the failures of the World Bank Group and IMF can be traced to "overlapping missions," "ineffectiveness, corruption, and waste of resources," and failure to develop successful regional programs in agriculture, forestry, environment, health care, and other sectors among other problems. But while the Commission also said "lack of transparency and accountability" contributed to this failure, it did not offer any reforms to address this problem. "The Meltzer Commission report gives further weight to the growing evidence that these institutions have caused serious social and environmental damage to those nations they should be assisting," said Carol Welch, International Policy Analyst for Friends of the Earth. "However, until the IMF's chronic lack of accountability and democracy are also dealt with, any reforms are unlikely to have a lasting positive impact." For example: The IMF's lack of accountability and democracy, combined with US dominance of the institution, has made the IMF an agent of Wall Street, rather than an enabler of global stability and prosperity. The groups say an independent evaluation unit and an ombudsperson are essential requirements for an overhauled IMF, as is true participation of IMF borrowers in the institution's governance. While the Commission rightly identifies structural adjustment lending as a function of the World Bank Group and not the IMF, it fails to call for more oversight and attention to the environmental and social implications of this function. Currently the Bank does not conduct environmental or social assessments for these programs, despite more than a decade of research that clearly demonstrates their negative impacts to poor countries. The Commission finds correctly that the World Bank Group should restrict its financial support to sectors that have a direct and demonstrable connection to poverty alleviation and sustainable development. However, it overlooks a number of important sectors that can help fulfill this mandate in environmentally and socially beneficial ways. These include investment in renewable energy and efficiency programs, education, improved urban living conditions, and combating pollution. The groups supported the Commission's recommendations that the IMF's structural adjustment lending program be eliminated, stressing that the IMF is not equipped to provide poor countries with long-term development finance and capacity building. They also endorsed the Commission's call for immediate debt cancellation for the poorest countries. Finally, the groups backed the Commission's call for elimination of the Multilateral International Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the World Bank's private risk insurance arm, saying the World Bank's development mandate should not be confused with that of supporting the private sector or providing risk insurance to companies. Website: http://www.50years.org CONTACT: Jo Marie Griesgraber, Center of Concern: 202-635-2757, ext.126 Deborah Rephan, Environmental Media Services 202-463-1310, ext. 267 Andrea Durbin or Carol Welch, Friends of the Earth: 202-783-7400 or 202-744-8048 <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! 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