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During a presentation at the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference in March, she drew a round of applause when she touted her efforts to privatize sectors of Nigeria's economy, as she declared "the state should not be in the business of producing goods and services because it is inefficient and incompetent" with a flourish that suggested it wasn't the first time she had delivered that sentence to positive effect.
When I read such a statement, I think that it is thought that an African or an American black are anti-capitalist by nature and that this statement is an anomaly.
Regardless of individual credentials, or even individual intentions, the World Bank remains a tool of Global Capital. The idea that the Bank actually has poverty alleviation as its mission is laughable with its "one dollar, one vote" structure, its need to satisfy its stakeholders in the bond market etc.
The new Deputy, who will be responsible for South Asia, is no more welcomed in this role in India than her predecessors by many civil society organizations and struggle groups. Over 60 organizations put together an Independent Peoples Tribunal on the World Bank last month in Delhi. The jury found that the bank has had disastrous effects on the countries poor, on the environment, and on the social fabric of the country. (www.worldbanktribunal.org).
The search for actual alternatives to current development models should be the focus of journals such as Salon.com if the topic arises.
Misha Singh
New Delhi
