(May 22, 1997) Nelson Mandela used a world economic forum in Harare this week to argue that South Africa’s major problem is servicing the massive debts run up by apartheid governments.
Should we pay the debt of the past regime?
(March 14, 1997) Should the people who were victims of the oppressive machinery of apartheid now be forced to repay those financiers who were immoral enough to finance the machinery?
Inter-American Convention Against Corruption
(March 29, 1996) The Member States Of The Organization Of American States, Convinced That Corruption Undermines The Legitimacy Of Public Institutions And Strikes At Society, Moral Order And Justice, As Well As At The Comprehensive Development Of Peoples;
A troubling deposit at World Bank
(November 29, 1995) For 5O years government guarantees have allowed the World Bank and its sister development banks to amass the world’s riskiest loan portfolios. Three months ago, the weakest of these sisters, the African Development Bank, was downgraded. And now for the first time, the World Bank admits that many of its own loans can’t be paid back.
Chinese leader will aid Chretien award contracts to supporters of the controversial Three Gorges dam
(October 12, 1995) Chinese Premier Li Peng is expected to lend a helping hand to Prime Minister Jean Chretien tomorrow in his bid to secure business for Canadian firms in the construction of China’s Three Gorges dam.
How to Kill World Bank
(December 9, 1994) When the World Bank celebrated its golden anniversary in Madrid in early October, it promised a new and revitalized "vision" to alleviate Third World poverty. But the bank’s critics-from left-wing development agencies and radical environmentalists to right-wing think tanks-don’t trust that vision.
It’s time to shut down the World Bank
(October 4, 1994) Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year along with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank was part of the postwar reconstruction program John Maynard Keynes helped set up in 1944. Lord knows what Lord Keynes would make of the World Bank today.
The World Bank’s Finances: An International S&L Crisis
(October 3, 1994) The World Bank, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has long enjoyed a sound financial reputation. But its AAA credit rating is not justified. Because of the perverse incentives under which the World Bank operates, the quality of its loan portfolio has diminished significantly, and because the bank is backed by rich-country governments, its irresponsible lending exposes Western taxpayers to a possible World Bank bailout on a scale comparable to the U.S. savings-and-loan bailout. That would leave taxpayers in the industrialized countries on the hook for $100 billion; U.S. citizens would be liable for nearly $30 billion.
‘Dictatorship, Democracies and the Debt Crisis’ (Part II)
(June 1, 1993) The analysis demonstrates that a debt crisis can be expected when borrowing decisions are made by corrupt agents whose behaviour cannot be controlled by their principals.
‘Dictatorship, Democracies and the Debt Crisis’ (Part I)
(June 1, 1993) Arvind K. Jain uses the concept of agency theory to analyse the effects of corruption of the decision makers on the level of foreign debt.
Dictatorship, democracies and the debt crisis
(June 1, 1993) The fall of the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq has called on lenders to account for their funding decisions as never before. Only two decades ago, the prevailing wisdom held that loans to governments were the least likely to go sour because government guarantees eliminated commercial risk. Dictators, in other words, posed no more or less risk than anyone else.
Why Canada should not contribute to the World Bank’s IDA-10 replenishment
(November 2, 1992) View speech
Public debate of odious debts
(November 12, 1991) View speech
IBRD, Articles of Agreement: Article III, section 5
(February 16, 1989) IBRD Articles of Agreement require the bank to “make arrangements to ensure that the proceeds of any loan are used only for the purposes for which the loan was granted.” World Bank
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (U.S.)
(December 6, 1988) The FCPA prohibits corrupt payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business. The Department of Justice is the chief enforcement agency, with a coordinate role played by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
Other News Sources
Probe International 