Africa

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Masood Ahmed is President of the Washington-based Centre for Global Development (CGD) & former Vice President, Poverty Reduction & Economic Management, at the World Bank

By Masood Ahmed
WASHINGTON DC, Mar 18 2019 (IPS)

All incoming World Bank presidents bring a public record of their views about the bank and about development more generally. David Malpass, who is on track to become the bank’s next president, has not been shy in criticizing the role and management of the institution he now plans to lead.

The commentary on his nomination has detailed how his vision of the World Bank’s role and his reservations about multilateral solutions to global development challenges are at odds with the views of the bank’s shareholders and staff and—most importantly—with the needs of its clients, developing countries.

Past statements need not predetermine the direction of the Malpass presidency. Through his initial pronouncements and actions, Mr. Malpass can demonstrate that he is now the leader and guardian of an organization of 189 member countries acting together to achieve shared goals and promote common interests.

A good starting point would be for Mr. Malpass to acknowledge that the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate agreement provide a framework for action that most of the bank’s members have endorsed.

Recognizing the value added by multilateral, regional, and national development finance institutions acting as a system, not just in their own narrow interests, would also be an important step.

Here are the seven priorities for the World Bank that Mr. Malpass should consider endorsing in his initial statements and actions:

1. Support Africa’s development and integration into the world economy.

The central development challenge for the next two decades will be to help low-income Africa deal with its demographic, environmental, and developmental challenges. The success or failure of this endeavor will determine the future of the 2.5 billion people who will inhabit the continent by 2050—with major spillovers for every other region in an increasingly interconnected world.

The World Bank is already the largest multilateral financier of Africa’s development, but it can play an even stronger role to facilitate a more coherent approach by Africa’s other large development partners—including the European Union and China. In doing so, it needs to promote and finance country platforms for joined up development support and recognize that much of this development will come from private sector initiative.

2. Target the people left behind.

Development progress is always uneven. Even as countries move up to middle-income status, women, minorities, and disadvantaged regions disproportionately suffer from disease that is simple to prevent; struggle with basic numeracy and literacy, which is simple to teach; and lack human security that is taken for granted elsewhere.

And the transition from below to just above the poverty line is both fraught with challenges and easily reversed. More broadly, two billion people live in countries where sustainable development outcomes are affected by fragility, conflict, and violence, making delivering on the SDGs an intellectual and operational challenge.

Jim Kim—Mr. Malpass’s immediate predecessor—helpfully pushed the bank further into these spaces and Mr. Malpass would do well to confirm the institution’s continued focus on this agenda.

3. Help middle income developing countries make the right development choices.

Emerging markets and middle-income developing countries will increasingly drive global growth. The sustainability of their new infrastructure will define how livable our planet will be for the next century. Their economic success will provide markets for global exports and jobs around the globe.

The policy and investment decisions they make will impact our collective financial and environmental future. It would be a missed opportunity of historic proportions for the World Bank to watch these developments from the sidelines. It has a critical advisory and financing role in middle-income countries—not least as a catalyst for private finance.

Working with these countries also provides the bank with hands-on knowledge of development progress on the ground—knowledge that is essential for the bank to be a credible intellectual interlocuter for its low-income members.

So, it is important for Mr. Malpass to signal that focusing the bank’s financial support on where it has the most impact is not shorthand for pulling back from the vibrant partnership it enjoys with middle-income countries.

4. Mainstream work on global public goods.

Any number of knowledgeable observers, including a high-level group convened by the Center of Global Development (CGD) and an Eminent Persons Group set up by the G-20, have convincingly articulated why the challenge of development cannot be met without addressing problems—and opportunities—that span across countries in an increasingly interconnected world.

Whether it is preparing for the next pandemic; dealing with climate change; managing the ever-increasing flow of refugees; establishing an international tax regime that limits avoidance through tax havens; or coping with the regulatory and ethical challenges posed by big data, AI, and digital technology; action will need to be coordinated across countries and regions.

The Bank for good reasons, the bank has progressively become a major player in a number of these areas, but it still does this as an add-on to its main business, which continues to be organized around country-by-country lending.

Shareholders have not helped by creating a plethora of special facilities and trust funds that the bank manages on their behalf, which sometimes subvert the very priorities that they set for the institution when they meet in its the board to set strategy.

Mr. Malpass has the opportunity to rationalize the bank’s work on global public goods and to make this a core part of the Bank’s regular operations.

5. Be an active player in the debate on development pathways for the 21st century.

Every retrospective evaluation of the World Bank’s value add emphasizes the intellectual contribution it has made to furthering development thought and practice. That role is even more important given the widespread questioning of so much of what was taken as “good practice” in development cooperation.

Many countries are looking to China as the new model for shaping their own economic development strategy, and, no doubt, there is much to learn from China’s extraordinary journey over the past 50 years.

However, it is the World Bank as a global organization that should provide the home for discussing which of those lessons can be usefully emulated by others. Learning from China should be part of the World Bank’s intellectual agenda—not an alternative to it.

6. Engage actively with the other players who finance development.

Regional development banks are sometimes bigger players in their regions, national development banks are an underestimated force, and private foundations are major actors for driving innovation and a results-focus.

Private finance will be the key for making real the aspiration of ‘billions to trillions’ for development finance. Civil society provides ideas and holds the system accountable. The WB has a special role in making the development finance system be more than the sum of its parts. Mr Malpass needs to approach this task with serious commitment and a degree of humility. The results will be well worth the effort.

7. Don’t move around the boxes!

Every incoming president is tempted to reorganize the bank—partly to make it “their bank” and partly out of a genuine desire to make the machine work better. While no organizational structure is without its shortcomings, the cost of reorganization is often grossly underestimated.

The dust is only just beginning to settle on Jim Kim’s badly implemented and long drawn out reorganization; the last thing that an incoming president should do is embark on another round of moving boxes around.

Nor is this the moment for a wholesale changing of the guard at the senior leadership level just to show there is a new sheriff in town. The organization will deliver more and better with a bit of stability and continuity, albeit with the nudges that Mr. Malpass will want to give to align it better with his own vision.

The World Bank’s role as a multilateral development organization cannot be completely insulated from tensions among its major shareholders. Mr. Malpass comes from an administration that sees the World Bank as an instrument in a broader stand-off with China’s growing influence.

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing him will be to demonstrate that he has now moved to lead a multilateral organization that can be a “zone of mutual interest” where, with the cooperation and trust of all shareholders, he can advance global development goals that are in the interest of all.

Excerpt:

Masood Ahmed is President of the Washington-based Centre for Global Development (CGD) & former Vice President, Poverty Reduction & Economic Management, at the World Bank

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By Jan Lundius
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Mar 18 2019 (IPS)

EU Parliament elections take place every fifth year and votes have steadily been decreasing. In the last 2014 election, the overall turnout was 42.54 percent of those entitled to vote, in some nations it was just around fifteen percent. Nevertheless, results will not only be eagerly awaited by pro- and anti-EU activists, but also by ideologist from non-member countries. Particularily vociferous among such people are Steve Bannon, who wants to “Make America Great Again” and Aleksandr Dugin who wants to “Make Russia Great Again”.

Bannon, former Chief Strategist in the Trump administration, has identified “EU globalism” as his main enemy, “if I drive the stake through the vampire, the whole thing will start to dissipate.” To that end he has in Brussels founded The Movement to support right-wing populist groups opposing the EU. However, the initiative has so far not been particularily successful. It is hard to unite nationalistic secessionists. Marine Le Pen´s right-wing party Rassemblement national constitutes the biggest section of Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF), a EU parliamentary group comprising far-right parties from across Europe. In spite of agreeing with most of Bannon´s ideas Le Pen does not want his support: “He is an American, not European and can thus not play a leading role in a nationalist drive to save the real Europe.” She would probably state that neither can a Russian like Aleksandr Dugin.

Describing himself as the only “ideologue” Donald Trump listens to, Bannon might nevertheless be a useful ally for European far-right wingers. He has his tentacles all over the world and did for example tell Brexiter Nigel Farage: “You’re going to have to fight to take your country back, every day. Whether it’s Italy, France, England, or the United States. If we quit, they [the Liberals] are going to be in control.””

Even if he has been called Putin´s Rasputin, Dugin has probably not the same hold on his President as Bannon has on Trump. Yet, after criticizing him for “ignoring ideas and history”, Dugin later became convinced that Putin had improved and now declares that the President´s later speeches are inspired by Dugin´s ideology and he hails Putin as an incarnated tsar:

There are no longer any opponents to Putin’s line and if they exist, they are mentally ill and should be clinically examined. Putin is everywhere. Putin is everything. Putin is absolute. Putin is irreplaceable.

Bannon might agree, since he repeatedly has acclaimed Putin´s intelligence and pointed out that the Russian President shares his views of traditionalism and nationalism: “Putin is very, very, very intelligent. I can see this in the United States where he strongly reaches out to social conservatives with his message about more traditional values.” Bannon would probably also agree with Dugin when the Russian “philosopher” exposes opinions like:

The so-called ideology of human rights inherently refuses to recognize any kind of collective identity, including that of nationality and citizenship. Hence, we see provoked and uncontrolled migration, refugees, European self-hatred. The EU will necessarily continue the same politics of immigration, promoting transgenderism, transhumanism, postmodernity, and so on. If Trump would become the real Trump and not a puppet, America could play a positive role, though currently it is not Trump’s America, but rather an aggressive neocolonialist and interventionist country. Trump has been hijacked by neocons and fanatical groups who are trying to start a global war.

Is an ideologue like Dugin really capable of influencing European politics? Maybe. Recently, the Italian weekly L´Espresso provided an example of Russian alleged covert support to a nationalistic party.1 By following tracks left by the Russian oligarch Igor Rotenberg, who had avoided paying off huge Italian debts, L´Espresso unveiled a complicated pattern of suspicious bank accounts in tax havens and well-known banks. Igor is the son of Putin´s close friend and judo instructor Arkady Rotenberg. Arkady and his brother Boris gained billions of rubles through lucrative state contracts; like a new highway between Moscow and Saint Petersburg, huge building projects in Sochi, a bridge between Kertj on Crimea and Krasnodar Kraj, which with its 18 kilometres is Europe´s longest. The Rotenberg brothers also invest in real estate abroad. Due to their economic support to the war in Ukraine they were blacklisted by the US and the EU. Like many other oligarchs they have found various means to circumscribe the sanctions, one is covert support to European populist parties.2

The Rotenberg family has interests in Gazprom, Russia´s biggest, mainly state-owned company, though it is also supported by oligarchs close to Putin, among whom we find Konstantin Malofeev. He is not only a wealthy man providing economic support to the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbass, he has a life mission as well – fighting “moral disintegration” in the form of atheism, liberalism, feminism, abortion, immigration and homosexuality. Malofeev supports several European fringe groups, as well as established xenophobic political parties.

In July 2018, Italy’s Supreme Court ordered the nationalist party Lega Nord to repay 49 million euros misappropriated from the Italian State, while freezing 1.5 million euros deposited in Lega Nord’s bank accounts. The ruling might be withdrawn and the party assets released if Lega Nord begins to repay the embezzled funds. According to L´Espresso Matteo Salvini, leader of Lega Nord, as well as Italy´s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior has with Konstantin Malofeev worked out a scheme meaning that Lega Nord will receive a four percent commission from the sale of 3 million tons of diesel administered by Malofeev´s Avangrad Oil & Gas.

Aleksandr Dugin is assumed to have played an important part in the deal. His influential foundation Edinenie, Unity, is headquartered at the same address as Konstantin Malofeev’s company. Dugin is a frequent visitor to Italy and serves as a contact with Malofeev. His involvement is more ideologically than financially motivated. He considers Italian culture to be opposed to “detrimental influences” from the US and has declared that “Italy will be at the forefront of a great populist revolution that will change the world.” What Dugin probably refers to is Lega Nord`s “achievements”, like turning away immigrants and asylum seekers. He also appreciates that Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte from the beginning of his term has promoted a foreign policy characterized by an increasing rapprochement of Italy with Russia. He has advocated termination of international sanctions, which according to him is damaging to Italian economy and has offered Russia a strategic partnership in the fight against Islamist terrorism.

Bannon is also a great friend of Italy and as a conservative Catholic he would probably agree with Dugin´s declaration that:

We nationalists want a strong, stable state. We want order and healthy families, positive values and a strengthening of the influence of religion and the Church.

However, Bannon´s piousness and earnest belief in “family values” might be questioned. He has been married and divorced three times and his ex-wives have accused him of misdemeanour, domestic violence and battery. Bannon considers Pope Francis’s influence as detrimental to the “true” Catholic Church and has in Italy joined ranks with ultra-conservative Catholics who actively oppose Pope Francis, among others Istituto Dignitatis Humanae, a faction that within the Catholic establishment attempts to undermine the Pope’s position with the hope that he will resign.

Whatever we may think of Dugin´s and Bannon´s influence over the leaders of their respective nations and their nutty ideas, based on ultra-nationalistic nativism, fascist ideologies, Oriental mysticism and conspiracy theories, it cannot be denied that they in Europe, Russia and the US are influencing nationalist and xenophobic movements. An effort to counteract these dangerous notions would be to vote in the upcoming EU Parliament elections.

1 L´Espresso No. 9, anno LXV, 24 febbraio.
2 In 2018, Forbes Magazine estimated Arkady Rotenberg´s personal wealth to 2,7 billion USD.

Jan Lundius holds a PhD. on History of Religion from Lund University and has served as a development expert, researcher and advisor at SIDA, UNESCO, FAO and other international organisations.

Excerpt:

“Though this be madness, yet there is method in it.”
                                                       Polonius in Hamlet

By Geneva Centre
GENEVA, Mar 18 2019 (IPS-Partners)

Words cannot express adequately the pain and anguish we feel at the heinous attacks in New Zealand. We share the anguish of our fellow Muslims at those who have orchestrated such diabolical carnage in a place of prayer. As husbands, fathers and grandfathers, both of us can only imagine the pain and suffering felt by the families affected by this tragedy. In the weeks and months ahead, we must all stand together and raise aloft those values that must form the core of Islamic belief that we share with People of the Book– compassion, respect and dignity. If we fail in this, then terror is victorious.

Those ideologues and demagogues who set themselves above the rights of man and the laws of God have no place in our world, no matter who their victims or what their ideologies are. Their targets reflect the increasing polarisation of people worldwide, where hatred and fear can be spread and exacerbated at the click of a mouse, and where atrocities are streamed live for the voyeuristic thrills of criminal extremists and white supremacists. If it is true that ‘evil only wins when good people do nothing’, then let us now raise our collective voices, both Christians and Muslims alike, in repulsion and condemnation of these attacks.

Let us move away from the insidious culture that allows everyday hatred to creep into how we think about each other. Let us remember that it is empathy and not ethnicity that creates a community. Let us instead focus our thoughts on the shared humanity, which ties us to each other more deeply than any superficial differences might suggest.

We echo the words of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who spoke about the ostracisation of immigrants and the Muslim community. “They are us,” she said and we would add, “and we are you.

This is a time not only for good government, but more importantly, for good governance. We must face up to the divisions blighting our world. We must all work together to defeat hatred and give hope. This is not a mission of optimism, but one of necessity.

We may never properly come to terms with the senseless hatred that fuelled this outrage. However, we must offer our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims who lost their lives and our support to the wounded survivors of these attacks as they struggle to recover from the physical and mental trauma. Let us draw strength from our faith and our shared values. Most importantly, these terrible attacks must not be allowed to feed the hateful inhumanity of the few. Rather, these images of death and destruction must strengthen our compassion and elevate our common humanity. Instead of retribution and prolonged vitriolic responses, let us call now for peace and decency, standing together as one. When all is said and done, our conscience may question, “What part did I play? Did I help or was I part of the problem?” Now is the time to cling onto our shared ideals, our hopes and to the ties that bind us all, no matter where we come from or who we are. Now we work to overcome this darkness and remember that, in the words of Rabindranath Tagore, ‘Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.’

In these dark moments we wish to assure the peace-loving government and people of this exemplary nation that we are all New Zealanders.

*The signatories are HRH Prince Hassan Bin Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Ambassador Idriss Jazairy, Executive Director of the Geneva Centre on Human Rights and Global Dialogue

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