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World Bank moves to widen access

By Wang Bo (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-13 07:51

The World Bank's board of governors has approved a proposal to create an additional seat for developing nations on its executive board. This move, if sealed by the bank's 185 members, will help developing countries to have a majority of seats on the board. It would also help increase the voting power of this bloc to 44 percent.

The measure comes as a response to the criticism that it (and other international organizations such as the IMF) faced last year for its failure to foresee the global financial crisis.

At the G20 Summit in Washington last November, some developing nations had pressed for a revision in the representation mechanism in international financial institutions. This, they said, would enable them to have a better say in the workings of these multilateral bodies.

"Expanding the developing world's voice is central to delivering effective aid and promoting shared prosperity and development within a 21st century economic reality," World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick said in a statement.

The bank agreed to add a chair for Sub-Saharan Africa in addition to its existing 24 seats on the executive board. This was part of the bank's "first phase of reforms to increase the influence of developing countries". It also pledged to undertake a comprehensive work program to realign bank shareholdings and move toward an equitable voting arrangement between the developed and developing countries.

Although the latest move comes as an important step to help reform the World Bank's governance structure, experts have warned that bolder reforms are needed going forward.

"It is an irreversible trend for the developing world to push reforms on the international financial institutions, and the change in the World Bank's representation is but a minor step on the road to making it more representative," Hua Ercheng, chief economist with the China Construction Bank, said.

The current management mechanism in international financial institutions was out-dated as it largely reflected the political and economic landscape of the early years after World War II, Hua said, pointing out that it was unreasonable to still stick to the old governance model.