Aid Effectiveness

22 May 2009

A consortium of civil society representatives met to discuss access to information at the World Bank in Bangladesh on May 20th.
 
Article 19-Bangladesh, the Bank Information Center and VOICE, an IFI research and advocacy organization, convened a meeting of various civil society groups to solicit feedback on their collective experiences with the World Bank’s information disclosure practices in the context of World Bank country projects.  About 90 civil society representatives attended the May 20th meeting in Dhaka which included political activists, representatives from a variety of NGOs, trade unions, human rights and women groups as well as journalists and communications organizations.  Prominent academics and experts were in attendance, including Justice (retd) Mohammad Golam Rabbani who presided over the meeting.  Proposals and concerns with regard to the information disclosure policy as well as suggestions for an improved policy will be conveyed to the World Bank.

Civil society suggestions and observations

The World Bank does not provide any information on its projects in Bangladesh, obstructing stakeholders’ access to information in areas such as project agreement, implementation and monitoring, said participants in a consultation meeting.
They demanded public disclosure of all information related to WB projects as well as its funding procedures.

The meeting, held at the Dhaka Reporter’s Unity on Wednesday, was organised by research and advocacy organisation Voice and the Bank Information Centre. Former Appellate Division Judge Golam Rabbani presided over the meeting.
In his keynote speech, the Voice executive director, Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, said according to the WB’s Inspection Panel Annual Report, there were allegations of lack of transparency, even violations, of its disclosure policy, he added.
He cited violations of the disclosure policy in a significant number of cases.

BRAC University professor Dr Piash Karim said the World Bank was losing its legitimacy worldwide because of imposition of neo-liberal conditions on the states.
Accusing the World Bank of taking advantage of the global financial crisis, he said it was eager to expand its lending base. He demanded that the World Bank’s lending policy and the project agreements should be made public so that people could voice their opinions on the project documents.

May 20, Dhaka [The participants of the consultation allegedly said that the Bank didn’t provide any information on the project they undertook in the country and categorically it impedes the access to information at all levels including project agreement, implementation and monitoring levels.  The consultation was held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity today jointly organized by VOICE, a research and advocacy organization and Bank Information Centre. The consultation was presided over by Justice (Retd)  Mohammad Golam Rabbani.

Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive director of Voice read out the key note paper while he citing the example from the World Bank's Inspection Panel Annual Report, said that Bank suffers with the problem of access to information within several World Bank-financed projects. There are allegations of lack of transparency, and even violations of its own disclosure policy according to recently published Inspection Panel Report, he told. Ahmed Swapan also said that alleged violation of the Bank’s disclosure policy was raised in 22 of the 52 cases, which equates to 42 percent of all cases brought to the panel since its 1993 inception.

3 May Bali: During ADB`s 42nd Annual General meeting taking place in Bali, Indonesia from May 2-5, 2009, civil society and NGOs from around the world meet together and demonstrate against the project and policies of Asian Development Bank. As a part of programmes, a two days long Asia Pacific People`s Tribunal is being held in Udayana University, Bali while witnesses testify how ADB has violates the rights of the people of the region.

The international tribunal was organized by Indonesian civil society network INFID, Indies, Asia Pacific Research Network, IBON Foundation, Philippines associated with more than thirty organizations from the region including VOICE, Bangladesh.

The multilateral lender has been charged with gross violations of economic, social, and cultural rights of the Asia- Pacific region; civil and political rights; and peoples’ national sovereignty and right to self-determination.

NGOs warn that increased funds will equal increased harm

2 May 2009, BALI – The NGO Forum on the Asian Development Bank today challenged the multilateral bank’s move for a general capital increase (GCI), calling it irresponsible and dangerous.

28 April, Bali – The NGO Forum on ADB officially opened its Forum annual meeting (FAM) today at the Palm Beach Hotel & Resort in Bali, Indonesia.
Over 70 participants representing different organizations from Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, the United States, Australia, and the Netherlands attended the first day.

The first session dealt with big picture issues. Pieter Jansen of BothENDS talked about the ongoing financial crisis from the European perspective.   He compared the situation before the financial crisis and after the crash. He further said that the removal of controls over the financial sector has made the financial institutions masters of economy instead as its servants.
Stephanie Fried of the Environmental Defense Fund delved on private equity funds (PEF) which promotes secrecy in the middle of the global financial crisis. Though there is an international push for the re-regulation of financial architecture and an increase in transparency measures due to the global financial crisis, she said the ADB has proposed the further deregulation of risky investments and weakening of its Safeguards Policy. She said that PEFs are a key component of the ADB’s private sector development strategy.

Bali, a name of dream, it is also said that if you ask ‘a Balinese what heaven is like, he would say, just like Bali, without the worries of ordinary life. They want to live in Bali, to be cremated in Bali when they die, and to reincarnate in Bali’.
Only a few days in hand, while Asian Development Bank`s  42th Annual General Meeting is going to be held in Bali. In the eve of AGM there are hundreds of people including honourable Ministers, Government official’s social activist, women leaders, human rights activists, environmentalist and economist, around the globe are heading to Bali. Everybody has enormous curiosity around the AGM of ADB.  It is known to all that ADB, a lending agency in the region, is criticised for their role and economic policy in Developing Member Countries also now recognized one of the main player for climate change!

NGO Forum on ADD, an ADB watcher, one of the renowned civil society network based in Manila, who is critically observing and monitoring ADB`s policies and projects. Every year during ADB`s AGM, Forum organizes its AGM. Likewise, from 28th to 30th April 2009 Forum is organizing its AGM in Bali. There are more than 75 participants from different organization are participating in the Forum general meeting.

Speakers at a discussion meeting on Wednesday strongly criticised the Asian Development Bank’s policies and projects for their ‘negative impacts’ on people’s lives and livelihoods.

VOICE participated in the 2009 Amar Ekushey Book Fair held in Bangla Academy, Dhaka that ended on February 28th after month long book fair. In the book fair VOICE participated with a number of 50 items of its publications  including books, reports, newsletters, posters and other publications. It also keeps books and reports from national and international organizations whom VOICE has been closely working with. The participation of VOICE in the Book Fair helped disseminating information valued by VOICE, more specifically around the issues of globalization, trade, aid effectiveness, ICTs and information rights, climate change, IFIs, food and agriculture and of politics. Participating in the book fair, VOICE takes the opportunity for  building wider constituency and raising critical awareness among the stakeholders including teachers, students, politicians, researchers, citizen actors, NGOs, activists, researchers etc, around the issues. VOICE also displayed slogans e.g. Resist Corporate Globalization and Climate Justice Now! Along with posters`display describing the injustice and domination of IFIs and global capitalism. These were put to promote its role against unjust global hegemony.