James Wolfensohn’s dedication to poverty reduction defined his time at the World Bank, as well as his controversial leadership style, according to leading figures, writing exclusively on today’s emergingmarkets.org. Wolfensohn is due to step down after 10 years as president of the World Bank in June.
“When he [Wolfensohn] took the helm of the World Bank 10 years ago, he fused his own messianic ego with that of a crusading institution. The result was sometimes glorious and sometimes vainglorious”, writes Sebastian Mallaby, the Washington Post columnist and Wolfensohn’s biographer.
“Wolfensohn’s management shake-up drove hundreds of seasoned officials out of the door, and turned his staff temporarily against him,” continues Mallaby. “The Bank remains a favourite whipping boy for the small activist groups that lead anti-globalization movement.”
In another exclusive article, the Nigerian finance minister and former senior World Bank manager Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, lauds Wolfensohn’s dedication to Africa. “Jim will be respected as a true friend of Africa by all those who have a preference for the universal truth on the need to fight corruption and improve governance in Africa”, she writes.
During his term, Wolfensohn broke the taboo of debt relief for the poorest countries, as well as speaking openly about corrupt governments in developing countries. Whether his strategies will prove successful, remains to be seen, argues Richard Frank, chief executive, Darby Overseas Investments and a former managing director at the World Bank Group.
Frank points out that “as important as these steps are they do not constitute in themselves a guarantee of poverty reduction. By contrast to the massive expansion the Bank’s social development activities, the Bank support for the productive and infrastructure sectors has fallen sharply over the past 10 years.”
To read more about the experts’ opinion, please see the features section on emergingmarkets.org for exclusive pieces by Richard Frank, Sebastian Mallaby and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
WOLFENSOHN'S DEPARTURE - EXPERT'S VIEW: RICHARD FRANK