In a panel at the IMF/World Bank annual meetings held in Singapore last week, a number of anti-corruption advocates voiced support for the efforts that the Bank is making in the fight against corruption. The panel, entitled ‘Partnerships To Combat Corruption: Rising To The Challenge,’ took place Sept. 16 as part of a program of seminars – a dynamic forum where experts from governments and business and development community discuss the challenges and opportunities in the global economy.
The discussion, chaired by Dele Olojede, a Pulitzer Prize winner and Chairman of Timbuktu Media, also included: Paul Wolfowitz, President, World Bank; Paul Volcker, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve between 1979-1987; Huguette Labelle Chairperson of the Board of Transparency International; Mohamed Ibrahim, Chairman of Celtel International B.V.; John Githongo, African anti-corruption advocate; and Nuhu Ribadu, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Nigeria.
The group inextricably linked the fight against corruption with the fight against poverty, suggesting that governance and anticorruption efforts form an integral part of the World Bank's development work. “The greatest threat to development and, ultimately, to the Bank itself would be to sit back and be passive in the face of this challenge,” Volcker noted. “To take the view that its job is to lend freely whenever a perception of marginal benefit seems to justify it is not the right approach. Then, I think support for the institution and the effectiveness of its programs is sure to erode over time.”
See full Press Release.
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