BRETTON WOODS ® update A DIGEST OF INFORMATION AND ACTION ON THE WORLD BANK AND IMF • creating systematic coordination of World Bank relations with European positions, including enhanced links between parliaments. Parliamentarians can learn a lot parliamentarians enter new phase from each other about how best to increase the transparency and accountability of global institutions. WWW.BRETTONWOODSPROJECT.ORG World Bank interactions with parliamentarians have been increasing in recent years. For example, some Brazilian parlia- They have now developed further,with a critical French parliamentary report and a mentarians, working with NGO net- work Redes Brasil, have in recent major World Bank conference with parliamentarians in London. years encouraged the Senate Com- mittee on Economic Affairs to scru- The World Bank conference brought of the World Bank so that whatever each year on its activities in the Fund tinize public contracts for some together 70 parliamentarians from programmes are put in place are and Bank. The second such official external loans. The US Congress has 35 countries, including many who people-centred and bottom-up". report was produced by the French helped secure changes to World chair key parliamentary committees. It remains to be seen how the Treasury last summer. French NGOs Bank procedures, for example on It covered issues including the role steering group decides to take the net- led by Agir Ici, which campaigned suc- information disclosure. Parliamen- of civil society, trade talks, debt relief work forward, in particular what infor- cessfully to make the report public, tary influence can be particularly and corruption. This, the second mation will be presented to MPs welcomed its publication but accused strong at times when the Bank is such conference organized by the through the initiative's website and it of being too general and failing to requesting more funding for its Bank, established a new World Bank newsletter. One of the Bank's inten- analyse key controversial areas such International Development Associ- parliamentarians network. This tions in organizing the meetings was as structural adjustment impacts. Tav- ation (IDA). Inter-governmental aims to organize field trips and "to inform parliamentarians about the ernier's report, which was strongly negotiations on IDA are just about meetings, and exchange informa- Bank's role in poverty reduction and endorsed by the Commission des to start in earnest, giving an ideal tion on selected issues. convey its readiness to share its knowl- Finances in December, concurred with opportunity for MPs to debate the The Bank says its main motiva- edge resources". Unless balanced with the NGOs. He noted that "the policies Bank's effectiveness and future IMF ® 21 tions for this initiative are to inform a good feed of independent material, of the and the World Bank are not strategies. parliamentarians, exchange views this objective will worry some MPs. the only models for development" See related stories, p.3, p.6 and foster reflection on global chal- For example Yves Tavernier, Rappor- and that IMF policy recommendations FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 FEBRUARY/MARCH lenges. Some Bank staff would prob- teur to the French parliament's Com- would not be politically acceptable in ably be keen to use the parliamentar- mission des Finances, recommended in France. It sets out a number of World Bank parliamentarians network ∑ ians network to counter public his recent report that: "the idea of detailed recommendations. www.worldbank.org/pnid criticism, promote its lines on key transforming the World Bank into a • the Bank and Fund should limit their Yves Tavernier report to Commission des policy debates and drive a wedge Knowledge Bank should be opposed". missions and respect the roles of UN orga- Finances MP NGO ∑ between s and s. But the Lon- The Commission des Finances report nizations; www.assemblee-nationale.fr/ don meeting attracted a range of MPs is the culmination of increased French 2/rap-info/i2801.htm who are clearly not prepared to parliamentary scrutiny of the Bank • other ministries, parliamentarians and become a World Bank fan club. Char- and IMF since the Asia financial crisis. civil society groups should be involved French Treasury Report ∑ ity Kaluki Ngilu, a Kenyan MP elected When the French government with the Ministry of Finance in guiding www.finances.gouv.fr to the network's steering group, requested more money for the IMF in interventions in the institutions; French CSO analysis MP described her aims: " s can create 1998 the parliament agreed only on • a parliamentary delegation to the eco- ∑www.globenet.org/ifi checks and balances on the activities condition that the government report nomic institutions should be created; µ [email protected] “The PRSP has a paternalistic character, and lacks a vision of development” – page 4 World Bank to push for more adjustment lending . .2 Why officials and NGOs disagree on poverty analysis . .5 Lack of impact assessments constrains policy choices . .2 UK government launches globalization strategy . .6 Proposals on environmental impacts of adjustment . .2 UK parliament scrutinizes IMF . .6 New research on African PRSPs . .3 Davos and “anti-Davos” . .6 Adjustment lending bad news for poor . .3 Pesticide companies chat with World Bank . .6 Dakar 2000: from resistance to alternatives . .3 Bank forest policy process clash . .7 Bank strategy on governance . .3 Banking on knowledge . .7 Language a barrier in Cambodia PRSP . .4 Bank net Gateway latest . .7 Local leaders criticize Nicaragua's Interim PRSP . .4 Health policy attacked . .8 Critiquing social capital . .4 Indian power sector employees protest privatization . .8 Is capital account liberalization good for the poor? . .5 New annual World Bank civil society forum . .8 Update back issues, plus reports, links and more at: www.brettonwoodsproject.org BRETTON WOODS UPDATE NUMBER 21 – FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001 grammes, even those made by World Bank to push for more Bank staff, such as the Easterly report (see p.3). No mechanisms are proposed for improving the adjustment lending poverty focus of adjustment lend- ing nor how this will be moni- tored. A draft World Bank report outlining experience with structural adjustment lending proposes The paper is intended to feed that such lending should be increased. The Bank’s operational directive on structural into the stalled process for redraft- ing the Bank’s Structural Adjust- adjustment currently suggests it should not comprise more than 25 per cent of total lending, ment Operational Directive (OD8.6). although it has in fact been over 60 per cent in recent years after the Asia crisis. External consultation on the redraft could start in April at the Kampala NGO meeting of participants in the Struc- Many s, and the US govern- easy way to do so. The draft report adjustment program to efforts to tural Adjustment and Participatory ment, oppose an increase in adjust- suggests that “…as adjustment directly reduce or mitigate poverty”. Review Initiative (SAPRI), and finish ment lending because unlike pro- lending consists of policy support Another review found that “only by the Annual meetings in late Sep- ject loans, adjustment/programme for country programs based on the seven per cent of the adjustment NGO CAS tember. s are keen to know how loans do not require social and [Country Assistance Strategy], loans surveyed included specific this process will address changes to environmental impact assess- use of the finely articulated safe- indicators for monitoring social and NGO the Bank’s operational procedures ments. Some s would, however, guard and fiduciary rules that gov- environmental impacts”. The draft needed to implement the rhetoric support a shift to more adjustment ern investment lending would report thus argues that “there is sig- around the new Poverty Reduction lending if ex ante social and envi- likely not be appropriate.” nificant room for improvement in Strategy process and the commit- ronmental impact assessments The draft paper makes little men- the treatment of social and environ- ment to achieve the 2015 Interna- were made a requirement. The Bank tion of the need for impact assess- mental issues in adjustment lend- tional Development Targets. ® is under pressure from middle ments before adjustment loans are ing”. The retrospective is expected income borrowers, in particular, to agreed. It does note, however, that a to go to the Board in February after Bank contact on adjustment review: reduce the costs associated with recent Bank study “finds that less further redrafting. NGO Ulrich Zachau; project preparation by diluting its than twenty per cent of a sample of Some s are critical that the µ [email protected] safeguard policies. Switching to recent loans clearly [targeted] vul- paper does not address any of the adjustment lending would be an nerable groups and linked the many criticisms of adjustment pro- ∑www.saprin.org ß ß Lack of impact assessments Proposal on environmental impacts constrains policy choices of adjustment Due to a lack of information on responsible. Attention also needs to World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) irreversibility. This implies difficult impacts associated with adjustment be given to improving ex post have set out new proposals for judgements, so alternative options reforms, there is still no discussion assessments. The Bank’s Operations assessing the environmental conse- are to use a checklist or matrix which of realistic policy choices and trade- Evaluation Department reviews all quences of macro-economic reforms. can tabulate impacts without using offs in Poverty Reduction Strategies, completed programmes but these The proposed Environmental Impact numbers. Finally the report suggests according to an Oxfam International reports are not made public, whilst Assessment (EIA) process aims to producing various diagrams which letter sent to the heads of the Bank the IMF does not produce a formal “ensure that reforms are designed trace causes and effects using boxes and Fund in December. assessment. “While the commit- and implemented with full aware- and arrows.