Source: The New Nation (Bangladesh).
Original article available here.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus yesterday criticised the World Bank (WB) saying, the multilateral lending agency has failed to fight poverty and also has deviated from its central objective of alleviating poverty.
“WB was created to eradicate poverty. It cannot achieve the objectives for which it was created,” Yunus said after a meeting with visiting WB president Robert B Zoellick at his Grameen Bank’s Headquarters in Mirpur.
The micro-credit pioneer told the new WB president to reorganise the international institution focussing on poverty alleviation and to increase funding for micro-credit initiatives for the poor.
“I’ve told them that they’ve forgotten the people. If they can’t involve the people in their work, poverty won’t be reduced,” he said.
The “WB was created nearly 60 years ago. In this 60 years the world has changed a lot, but the WB has not changed its style,” Yunus said.
He told Zoellic that the Bank should carry out wide-ranging reforms including giving more freedom to local administrators of its programmes. “Its country offices act like a post office. They wait for the orders from the headquarters.
“I’ve said they could be given independence or be made a fully self-governed body.”
“It is urgent to bring changes to WB policies also,” he said adding, “Conditions attached by the Bank with its lending often puzzles many countries.”
The Grameen Bank chairman also criticised the WB for not lending adequate money for microcredit activities.
Yunus said the WB lends $20 billion a year on the average. Less than 1 percent is given for microcredit and small entrepreneurs, which Yunus said should be increased to at least 5 percent.
“If you think micro-credit is helpful to poor people, then why don’t you increase fund for it?” Yunus said. He asked the WB chief to assist developing countries, including Bangladesh, in carrying out financial policy reforms.
Zoellick, who took the helm of the Bank in July after a scandal forced his predecessor, Paul Wolfowitz, to resign, came to Dhaka Saturday on a two-day official visit. Earlier, he toured India and Pakistan.
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