(Washington, D.C.) – A news story broken using documents obtained by the Government Accountability Project (GAP) showing that World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz’ girlfriend, also a Bank staffer, received salary raises far in excess of what Bank rules and protocol stipulate has caused an uproar among Bank staff employees, as evidenced by an internal Bank email from the World Bank Staff Association.
The email, sent from the Staff Association to all employees on Tuesday, states that “the Staff Association has been inundated with messages from staff expressing concern, dismay and outrage.” Continuing, the email reads “At the same time, we call on Senior Management and the Board to clarify what appear to be violations of Staff Rules in favor of a staff member closely associated with the President.”
“It’s ironic that Mr. Wolfowitz lectures developing countries about good governance and fighting corruption, while winking at an irregular promotion and overly generous pay increases to a partner,” said Bea Edwards, GAP International Director.
When asked about Riza’s raises, a spokesman for Wolfowitz stated that that action was taken by the World Bank Board of Directors. Inside sources from the Bank have stated unequivocally that this was not the case, that Board members only learned of the raise from news reports, and that the members are furious. Specifically, members of the Ethics Committee of the Board, the relevant committee on this issue, have reported to GAP that they knew nothing of these decisions. As the story has developed, questions of fact regarding the authorization of the raises have emerged. The Bank is unable to clarify who proposed and approved the irregular promotion and subsequent raises for Riza.
The Bank’s Department of Institutional Integrity (INT), which investigates fraud and corruption at the Bank, under routine circumstances, would examine personnel actions that improperly benefit a close friend of a senior manager. According to the INT Web site, the department investigates “… [A]llegations of fraud and corruption in Bank Group operations as well as allegations of staff misconduct.” The site goes on to state, however, “The Integrity Department reports its findings to senior management, who in turn decide what measures should be taken.” This means that INT must report any uncovered wrongdoing to Wolfowitz and his direct aides. Because of this, extraordinary ad hoc measures must be taken.
“GAP has worked hard to establish a whistleblower protection policy and an impartial justice system at the World Bank, and this situation illustrates clearly how crucial these structures are,” said Edwards. “If whistleblower protections had been in place, the Riza affair could have been addressed internally, but as it is, our sources had no choice but to leak the information. An employee cannot report potential wrongdoing to an investigations unit whose only authority is to recommend corrective measures to senior management. In effect, there is no impartial Inspector General in place, and no one is authorized to address allegations of misconduct involving senior management.”