Now that disgraced about-to-be-former World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is about to draw his next-to-last paycheck from the World Bank, you’d expect that the cronies that helped him crash and burn would be planning their own departures.
Not so for “the other woman” Robin Cleveland, whose imperious and superficial role as Senior Counsellor (and whose rich pay of $275,000 tax-free dollars was a damn sight better than what she pulled down as a “third level official” at OMB) is scheming to join the Global Environment Facility. Or “burrowing in” as they say in the US government.
Robin is conniving with Monique Barbut, the lovely and charmant Chief Executive of the enormous global fund for the environment that is housed in the Bank “investing in our planet”, to keep her excessive and unwarranted salary for another two years as a “team leader”
Have neither of them any shame? more…
Paul Wolfowitz’s surprising–and seemingly ineffective–character reference for his protégé Scooter Libby, read to a captivated court at Libby’s sentencing hearing, should remind us of the unfinished HR business at the Bank. Nominee Robert Zoellick launches his worldwide listening tour and charm tour, but let’s not forget the housecleaning that everyone’s anticipating to get them, and the post-Wolfowitz Bank, back to work.
Reread Voice of Reason’s May 14 “watch what Shaha Riza and Paul Wolfowitz do, not what they say.” This insightful piece during the drama put some context around Shaha’s career at the Bank. Her contribution was not, ahem, quite as Paul Wolfowitz believed, and would have had the Board believe. His handling of his lover’s career was the incident that helped unravel his deeply flawed presidency.
Shaha is desperately negotiating her return to the Bank now that the conflict of interest–Wolfowitz–is about to be removed. It’s not finished, though, until the Bank and State complete their investigations into Bank employee Shaha’s jaunt to Iraq, apparently as an employee of defence contractor SAIC.
It now seems that it was apparently Shaha advising Wolfowitz not to resign and how to handle the Board and others so aggressively right up to the end. We always thought it was Robin Cleveland (banished to a broom closet but still very much on Bank premises) but it was just as much Shaha all the way along. more…
May 22nd 2007 | Deep Insider | More on World Bank President | Comments Off
The heroic Internal Communications team that is monitoring the internal bulletin boards is cracking down on comments posted about the Bank’s senior management. Two postings about General Counsel Ana Palacio’s flouting of the Staff Rules about political activities, including one with a link to worldbankpresident.org were removed, without acknowledgement. Another has just gone up, but how long will it stay?
By contrast, a posting on the EXT at 10:10 Washington time was still there two hours later. It asks pointed questions about what was going on while Kevin Kellems was running the Bank’s communications shop. Some very interesting issues (reformatted for easier reading): more…
May 22nd 2007 | Deep Insider | More on Mr W's cronies | Comments Off
World Bank General Counsel has broken a staff rule prohibiting staff from political interference in member countries. Along with other former EU foreign ministers, she signed a letter to the International Herald Tribune on May 16 “To the Turkish people from their European friends” more…
May 21st 2007 | Deep Insider | More on Wolfowitz | Comments Off
Although Paul Wolfowitz is sorting his papers and waiting for an invitation to Africa, work remains to be done below the tip of the iceberg. The Board has dealt with him, but there is more to clean up. There’s new news, and it involves Robin Cleveland (again), this time with Anwar Ibrahim, former PM of Malaysia and now Chairman of the Foundation for the Future. more…
May 18th 2007 | Deep Insider | More on Wolfowitz | Comments Off
The latest in the Staff Association’s reasoned statements makes it clear that this controvery is far from over. Speaking on the BBC tonight, SA Chair Alison Cave reiterated that Paul Wolfowitz has disgraced himself and the institution, and it is now time for the Board to make it clear he is finished, and long before June 30 when he hands in his badge, takes his $400,000 termination payment and steals away (no pun intended) with his integrity intact (according to him) more…
