4. REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ENTERPRISES ON THE PARLIAMENTARY NETWORK ON THE WORLD BANK CONFERENCE, 21 TO 23 OCTOBER 2005, HELSINKI, DATED 16 NOVEMBER 2005:
The Chairperson of the Public Enterprises Portfolio Committee, Mr Yunus Carrim, having attended the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank Conference, from 21 to 23 October, in Helsinki, Finland, reports as follows:
8. The Conference also served as the PNoWB’s general assembly. A progress report since the last conference in 2004 was tabled and a new Board was elected.
B. World Bank Relations with MPs
1 The World Bank is owned and governed by 184 countries. In 1944 the representatives from the Bank’s founding countries decided that the organisation would deal with its member states through their finance and development ministries only and focus on economic matters only. A section of the Articles of Agreement, the international treaty that established the World Bank, stated: "The Bank and its officers shall not interfere in the political affairs of any member".
2. In view of the tremendous changes in the global economy since then, and the pressure from parliaments, civil society organisations, academics and others for the World Bank to be more open, transparent and accountable, the Bank has increasingly begun to accept that its interpretation of the above section of the Articles is too narrow. The Bank has begun, over the past five years or so, to expand its relations with MPs, parliaments, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.
3. The Bank says that its relations with parliamentarians have certainly expanded in recent years. It contextualised this. "First, the world has seen an explosion in the number of electoral democracies, from 66 in 1987 to 121 in 2003. The growth of civil society is equally spectacular; companies, grass-root organisations, campaign groups, trade unions, elected officials and academics have joined governments on the international stage as agenda setters and decision makers. This is the second big transformation. The third trend relates to how development assistance is carried out. Experience has shown that policies and projects to reduce poverty are most effective when priorities are set by countries receiving the aid – based on broad consultations – rather than by donors."
4 The Bank, according to its "Issue Brief" on "The World Bank and Parliaments", believes that "well functioning parliaments promote development and the rule of law. Engaging elected representatives on development issues and strengthening the capacity of parliamentary institutions are important objectives of the World Bank".
5 The "Brief" notes that "in developing countries, parliamentarians can be agents of change. They represent their constituent’s needs and views, and can contribute to designing and overseeing implementation of World Bank-financed projects. Legislators can champion social and economic reforms, speak out on HIV/AIDS, take on corruption. In many countries, Bank projects are subject to parliamentary approval directly, through ratification, or indirectly through budget approval. In some cases, parliamentarians create debate and pass new legislation linked to World Bank-supported reform programmes."
6. The "Brief" notes further that in countries providing development assistance, "parliamentarians can be advocates for development. They debate and approve foreign aid budgets, shape and review development policies and promote coherence across policy areas. In a progressively borderless world, parliamentarians exercising their oversight role are paying more attention to matters handled by multilateral organisations. The World Bank is the world’s single largest external funder of development programs as well as an important source of knowledge and advice on how to tackle global issues such as international trade, poverty, HIV/AIDS, corruption, and climate changes."
C. Some Key Issues Raised at Conference
D. Some Overall Observations