Wolfowitz To Resign

[Zkribbler]

Wolfowitz To Resign As World Bank Chief
Departure Announced By World Bank


WASHINGTON -- Embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz will resign at the end of June, his leadership undermined by the generous compensation he arranged for his girlfriend. His departure was announced by the World Bank board.

At a White House news conference Thursday, President George W. Bush said he admires Wolfowitz, who the president said has the bank's best interests at heart.

Earlier, a spokesman for the Dutch overseas development minister said the charges against Wolfowitz are "bad for the bank."

The World Bank board resumed deliberations on Wolfowitz's future Thursday. The 24 board members are trying to resolve conflict-of-interest charges against Wolfowitz.

Pressure on Wolfowitz to resign has grown since Monday's release of a bank panel report on his handling of a generous 2005 pay package given to his girlfriend, bank employee Shaha Riza.

Her salary eventually increased by $60,000, and the bank panel concluded that the salary increase was "in excess of the range" allowed under bank rules.

Wolfowitz said he acted in good faith. But now he and the Bush administration are seeking a face-saving deal that would allow him to resign under his own terms.

Meanwhile, Wolfowitz has canceled a trip to a bank-sponsored conference in Slovenia on Thursday and Friday so that he can work with the board.

While Wolfowitz has been fighting to keep his job, the Bush administration has been expressing public support for him.

"What we've said all along is, first, we do support Paul Wolfowitz," White House press secretary Tony Snow said earlier in the week. "The fact is that he made mistake; they're not, in our view, firing offenses."

But that support seemed to shift its stance by saying that "all options are on the table" about who should lead the World Bank.

On Wednesday, Snow said the controversy surrounding Wolfowitz has been "a bruising episode for the bank." The White House, however, reaffirmed its support for Wolfowitz even as the bank's board met on the issue.

My favorite line: "President George W. Bush said he admires Wolfowitz, who the president said has the bank's best interests at heart." Paying an extra $60,000/year to a woman to make sure your World Bank president is sexually satisified is certainly a good deal for the bank.

[Drake Tungsten]

It's a bad day for Africa...

[ZEE]

this gets a big, fat... MEH

[Drogue]

Re: Wolfowitz To Resign

Originally posted by Zkribbler
My favorite line: "President George W. Bush said he admires Wolfowitz, who the president said has the bank's best interests at heart." Paying an extra $60,000/year to a woman to make sure your World Bank president is sexually satisified is certainly a good deal for the bank.

Ok, normally I'd look for any excuse to fire a non-economist NeoCon from the World Bank, especially one with the foreign policy record of Wolfowitz, but I can't see what he did wrong! His girlfriend would have been working under him, which is not allowed by World Bank policy, so he found her a job somewhere else. What else is he meant to do? If he'd let her stay in her original job then we'd be up in arms about his conflict of interest with his girlfriend working under him. Yet it would be a bit unfair to simply fire a woman from her job because her boyfriend happens to be given a job as her boss. Where else in DC other than the US state department would an Arabic specialist find a job? It seems an easy solution, and it's hardly like she isn't an asset, when, at least certainly the UK government, though I'm not sure about the US, has a lack of Arabic specialists. The fact the job pays more seems a bit immaterial to me, as someone who earned $130k at the World Bank, somewhere that while relatively decent, doesn't pay the highest of wages, is probably worth about $190k at the state department.

What were Wolfowitz's options here? He couldn't let he keep her original job, nor would it be fair to fire her for his conflict of interest issue. It would probably even be illegal to and considered a wrongful dismissal. So finding her another job that uses her specialism seems like the only sensible alternative, and who else other than the US government in Washington DC is going to hire an Arabic specialist?

I'm happy he's gone, although I don't see what he did to deserve it. Also, I do wish he could have been fired a couple of years later when Bush wouldn't get to appoint his successor.

[Drake Tungsten]

I'd look for any excuse to fire a non-economist NeoCon from the World Bank, especially one with the foreign policy record of Wolfowitz

That's why he got forced out. The whole thing with his girlfriend was just a convenient means to that end.

[Drake Tungsten]

The fact the job pays more seems a bit immaterial to me, as someone who earned $130k at the World Bank, somewhere that while relatively decent, doesn't pay the highest of wages, is probably worth about $190k at the state department.

FYI, Riza makes more than the Secretary of State.

[Dinner]

I'm hoping they professionalize the World Bank and get rid of the obvious political cronies.

[DAVOUT]

Re: Re: Wolfowitz To Resign

Originally posted by Drogue


What were Wolfowitz's options here? He couldn't let he keep her original job, nor would it be fair to fire her for his conflict of interest issue. It would probably even be illegal to and considered a wrongful dismissal. So finding her another job that uses her specialism seems like the only sensible alternative, and who else other than the US government in Washington DC is going to hire an Arabic specialist?

It seems that the wrongdoing was not the new assignment nor the salary increase but the fact that a salary increase greater than usual was resulting from a personnal decision of Wolfowitz. That was the "mistake", or conflict of interest, or nepotism.

[DanS]

Wolfowitz got shafted. I have no love for Wolfowitz, but he was trying to clean up the World Bank. Nobody wants to get off the gravy train.

[MRT144]

Originally posted by DanS
Wolfowitz got shafted. I have no love for Wolfowitz, but he was trying to clean up the World Bank. Nobody wants to get off the gravy train.

is gravy train code for wolfowitz's dick?

[Pekka]

[BeBMan]

Poor Wolfy, victim of some evil conspiracy.

[Pekka]

THere's no use for the gravy train though, the conspiracy will land him in some jail where these big dudes come and shout "give up the mud!". Paul is like no guys, wouldn't you rather have gravy? THey'd be like no we wan't mud, give it up. SO then he tries another strategy, that is the Paul strikes first policy, and he launched against the first guy, who grabs in in mid air, and the mud giving has alrtaedy started before he lands down on the ground.

[Drogue]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

The fact the job pays more seems a bit immaterial to me, as someone who earned $130k at the World Bank, somewhere that while relatively decent, doesn't pay the highest of wages, is probably worth about $190k at the state department.

FYI, Riza makes more than the Secretary of State.

Yes, and the top level of the civil service in the UK earn more than the Prime Minister. It's normal that employees at either the specialist or simply high levels of government earn more than appointed officials. Generally because an official's salary is put more into the public domain and seen as something needed to hold them accountable for, whereas the non-appointed professional civil service salaries aren't. I wouldn't be surprised if her salary was higher than Wolfowitz's as well.

Originally posted by DAVOUT
It seems that the wrongdoing was not the new assignment nor the salary increase but the fact that a salary increase greater than usual was resulting from a personnal decision of Wolfowitz. That was the "mistake", or conflict of interest, or nepotism.

Possibly, though I wouldn't be surprised if the pay rise went with the job change - ie. if she'd resigned and applied for that job at the state department normally, would she have got the new level of pay anyway. Often people's pay changes considerably when they switch jobs. Even were it not to, giving her a pay rise to compensate for being forced out of her job seems reasonably fair to me.

[Dinner]

Wolfowitz kept saying the World Bank was corrupt and filled with corrupt people and he promised to clean it up. Then he committed a sort of nepotism for his girlfriend and got her a massive raise using his influence. Not good and he should go.