Not surprising. The World Bank’s main architect was a Soviet agent masquerading as a U.S Treasury official.
The Japan Times reports:
World Bank president Jim Yong Kim is in a difficult position, said Lawrence MacDonald of the Center for Global Development. “He’s right to sound the alarm on climate but I’m afraid that the poverty goal and climate change could be conflicting.”
The president is confident solutions exist, but he has to convince the bank’s 188 member countries and some 10,000 employees.
It won’t be an easy task.
In a recent internal document obtained by AFP, Kim denounced the “culture of fear” that allegedly curbs initiatives at the heart of the institution and is used to justify inaction.
Certain reactions, published on the bank’s intranet, reflect a climate of mistrust.
“The bank has never been an honest organization, either with itself or with the clients,” said one unnamed bank employee.
“Is the bank willing to take the risk of offending member nations by telling them that they are corrupt and that many nations are themselves the single biggest obstacle to development?” asked another.