News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Fri. April 6, 2012: Caribbean ambassadors are reportedly making their voices heard over the election of the World Bank’s next President.
News Americas has learned exclusively that the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Executive Directors met with Caribbean ambassadors at IMF Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Thursday and the election was very much on the meeting’s agenda.
As of press time last night, it was unclear what the consensus of the meeting was, but sources tell NAN that the Caribbean region is not happy with a declaration by Canada’s representative on the Bank’s Board, Marie-Lucie, an executive director, that it will support the US’ choice.
At the Board level, Canada is responsible for its own interests and those of Ireland and 11 other Commonwealth countries that have grouped together into one constituency. The Canadian Executive Director is elected to the Board by the governments of Canada, Ireland, and the Caribbean-region countries of Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines.
The Canadian Executive Director is supported in her functions by an Alternate Executive Director from one of the Caribbean members of the constituency, currently, Barbados.
Sources say the Caribbean leadership is miffed that Canada has wholly thrown its support behind the United States’ nomination of Jim Yong Kim to be the next president of the World Bank without consultation, especially since Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former Colombian Finance Minister, Jose Antonio Ocampo, are vying for the top job at the world lender.
A U.S. citizen has headed the World Bank since it was created after World War Two and rising developing nations seemingly want a change in the status quo.
A decision on a new leader for the Bank is expected to be announced by the time its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund, hold semi-annual meetings in Washington on April 20-22.
