BIC Updates
The latest news from the Bank Information Center

• Vacancy at Asian Development Bank's Compliance Review Panel
  The Compliance Review Panel is part of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Accountability Mechanism. It is a citizen’s complaint panel where people affected by ADB projects can request an independent investigation into problems they face and policy violations committed by the ADB.
• Donors promise $8.9 billion to the African Development Bank
  AfDB President Donald Kaberuka praises the United Kingdom's “concretization of commitments to double aid to Africa” made at the Gleneagles G-8 summit in 2005. However, Kaberuka’s willingness to credit the UK with “concretizing” its pledges appears overly generous. To date, the UK and the G-8 have fallen well short of the mark in meeting their promises.
• Palestinian Authority to cut spending on wages and electricity to access donor funds
  Favorable World Bank assessment of Palestinian economic reform program helps pave the way for major donor support.
• Press highlights World Bank blunders in Congo's forest
  Last week, the Financial Times published an article on the World Bank's errors in its forest operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and allegations of support for illegal logging in the country by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Just two days later, the IFC announced it would sell its stake in Olam International Ltd., the Singaporean commodity trading company accused of "environmental malpractice" in the world's second largest rainforest. As those gathered in Bali for the United Nations conference on climate change discuss the importance of forests to the future health of the planet, the Bank's missteps in Congo deserve a closer look.
• Bank of the South launched
  Seven South American leaders launched the Bank of the South (Banco del Sur) on Sunday, touting it as the continent's alternative to U.S.-backed lenders.
• IMF to cut staff by 15%
  In an exclusive interview with the Wall Street Journal, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the new Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), reveals plans for significant layoffs at the institution, by as many as 300-400 jobs.
• From policy to practice: BIC comments on the 2007 Global Accountability Report
  One World Trust’s 2007 report identifies vital accountability standards for global actors. Ratings of policies and systems, however, do not reflect the most critical dimension of accountability: on-the-ground practice. Asian groups disagree with top scores for ADB.
• Malawi wins results and recognition for rebuffing World Bank prescriptions
  A prominent New York Times article describes how Malawi went from food aid recipient to regional food provider in just two years after re-introducing fertilizer subsidies for its low-income farmers. The move contravened years of policy guidance from the World Bank and IMF, which warn against such distortions of the “free market.” But donors find it hard to argue with success, especially because in violating what its wealthy benefactors in Europe and North America say, Malawi is doing precisely as they do.
• Seeing the forest for the carbon?
  As the World Bank prepares to launch the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) -- its flagship initiative to address deforestation-related greenhouse gas emissions -- at the United Nations climate change conference in Bali, Indonesia, we offer some background on the FCPC and outline the concerns surrounding this controversial new mechanism.
• BIC hosts working session on international financial institutions in Indonesia
  Working session aims to update the Indonesian civil society organizations and movements on the old and new trends in the governance and operations of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as they relate to Indonesia.
• BIC's MENA program organizes first workshop in Yemen
  The workshop introduced BIC's work to Yemeni media and civil society organizations, and focused on the activities of the international financial institutions in the country.
• مركز معلومات البنك يبدأ موقعاً باللغة العربية لبرنامجه في الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا
  الشركاء والقراء يستطيعون الآن الحصول على معلومات عن برنامج مركز معلومات البنك في الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا باللغة العربية
• BIC now has an Arabic page for its MENA program!
  Partners and readers from the Middle East and North Africa region can now access information on BIC's MENA Program in Arabic.
• European Parliament passes resolution to end taxpayer support for fossil fuel projects
  Resolution is welcomed by NGOs campaigning to have export credit agencies and public investment banks be held accountable for their actions.
• Comment: Try as it might, the World Bank cannot hide its failings
  The World Bank touted it's meeting with a delegation of Pygmies from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during the Bank's Annual Meetings in October. But as Simon Counsell of Rainforest Foundation UK points out, the Bank has consistently ignored the findings of the quasi-independent Inspecition Panel and violated its own "safeguard policies."
• World Bank asked to implement NDP Action Plan
  In 2006, the World Bank’s Inspection Panel (IP) issued its investigation report for the Bank-funded Pakistan National Drainage Program (NDP). The inspection requesters strongly feel the World Bank Board should ask the Inspection Panel to monitor progress of Management's Action Plan so as to provide the Board with an independent assessment of progress or lack thereof.
• U.S. coalition calls for World Bank reforms
  A coalition of U.S. development and environmental groups has released a joint platform containing needed World Bank reforms, ahead of the 15th replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA) negotiations in Dublin, Ireland.
• Nurses, teachers in Burundi strike over IMF-mandated constraints
  Thousands of teachers and hundreds of nurses in Burundi went on strike last month to protest the government’s inability to meet its commitments to increase wages and improve working conditions.
• Bank of the South
  Eight countries are planning to inaugurate the Bank of the South in December 2007. The Bank of the South represents the cornerstone to a more wholesale renovation of the regional financial architecture long dependent on Northern banks. Read Vince McElhinny's new info brief on the Bank of the South and what it means for Latin America, and the continued relevance of the international financial institutions for the region.
• IMF cancels Liberia's debt
  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced yesterday that it will write off Liberia's debt by securing $842 million from its own institutional reserves and donor country pledges. The move comes after the Fund endured heavy criticism in the international media last month for not following through on its commitment to Liberia, eighteen months after the country had met the IMF's stringent policy conditions.
• Terms of appointment for IMF head disclosed
  For the first time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has publicly disclosed the official terms of appointment for its new Managing Director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. His terms include an annual salary of $420,930 (net of income taxes), an annual allowance of $75,350 for maintaining “a scale of living,” and the ability to resign from his position at any time.
• NGO coalition calls for release of report on mining contracts in the DRC
  A coalition of non-governmental organisations from Europe, North America, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) launched an international appeal today demanding the publication of the final report of the ministerial commission on the review of mining contracts without delay.
• ADB responds to NGO Forum on demands around safeguards review
  The NGO Forum on ADB, on