Wolfowitz isolated as directors decide his fate
April 20, 2007
By Jitendra Joshi
Washington - Embattled World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz looked more isolated than ever yesterday as directors met to debate his fate amid the rumblings of a civil war among senior staff.
After reviewing the organisation's latest development projects, the 24 executive directors were to turn to a pay and favouritism scandal that has engulfed the former pentagon deputy chief.
The meeting came a day after Wolfowitz attended a stormy session of senior staffers, where one of his two top deputies - managing director Graeme Wheeler of New Zealand - told him directly to quit.
One bank insider said after the meeting: "There was an exasperation that was conveyed to Wolfowitz: what part of 'resign' don't you understand?"
Reports said senior managers from Latin America and Asia had sided with Wheeler, but Wolfowitz had backing from officials he appointed to head the bank's Middle East and Africa divisions.
Battle lines are drawn between the bank's staff association and European governments, which have long been suspicious of Wolfowitz, and a camp of supporters that includes the US, Japan and some African countries.
The White House reiterated its "confidence" in Wolfowitz yesterday. Spokesperson Dana Perino said: "What the president [George W Bush] has said is that Paul Wolfowitz apologised, and to let the board do its work."
The board was meeting for the first time since last week's revelation that Wolfowitz in 2005 personally ordered a hefty pay package and guaranteed promotions for his girlfriend at the bank, Shaha Riza.
On releasing documents showing Wolfowitz's intimate involvement in the generous pay deal, the directors said last Friday they would "move expeditiously" to decide on possible actions to take.
The bank insider said the board would proceed "at a deliberate pace, but you can expect a sense of despair from many people who want change at the very top".
While campaigning against corruption, Wolfowitz is also leading a drive to raise $25 billion (R176 billion) from rich donors to sustain the World Bank's development funding for the poorest countries.
That has left campaigners worried that governments in Europe could use his fate as a bargaining chip over the US government. The US is by far the bank's biggest shareholder and has its own seat on the board, with Japan, Germany, Britain and France. - AFP
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