Cleaning Up The World Bank

A vigorous campaign to end corruption in the World Bank and the developing nations it lends billions of dollars to annually is making headlines worldwide and instilling fear in leaders of left-leaning nations who have labeled the man responsible for the cleanup a “neoconservative ideologue.”

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, deputy secretary of defense from 2001 to 2005, announced the much-needed anti-corruption campaign this week and said the World Bank is currently withholding five loans worth $250 million to Kenya, which has been dogged by a corruption scandal involving high-level officials.

The World Bank has been plagued by fraud for much of its 184-year history. With a multinational staff of 10,000, the bank lends about $20 billion a year to developing countries. Many World Bank staffers are encouraged by the new anti-corruption campaign and many say that they have been energized.

The Mid-Atlantic points out that, in the wake of the Iraq Oil For Food scandal, Wolfowitz is tackling an important issue that should concern anyone truly worried about world poverty.