Heat on Wolfowitz as World Bank directors meet

WASHINGTON: Embattled World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz looked more isolated than ever on Thursday as directors met to debate his fate amid the rumblings of a civil war among senior staff.   

After reviewing the organization's latest development projects, the 24 executive directors were to turn to a pay and favoritism scandal that has engulfed the former Pentagon deputy chief.   

The meeting came a day after Wolfowitz attended a stormy session of senior staffers during which one of his two top deputies -- managing director Graeme Wheeler of New Zealand -- told him directly to quit.   

"The characterization from people involved in the meeting was 'I can't believe you're asking our opinion,'" one bank insider said after Wolfowitz offered to make some management changes in a bid to rebuild his support.   

"It's not about management style. It's not about interaction with staff," the source said on condition of anonymity.    

"There was an exasperation that was conveyed to Wolfowitz: what part of 'resign' don't you understand?"   

Reports said senior managers from Latin America and Asia had sided with Wheeler, but that Wolfowitz enjoyed backing from officials he appointed to head the bank's Middle East and Africa divisions.   

Battle lines are drawn between the bank's staff association and European governments, which have long been suspicious of Wolfowitz, and a camp of supporters that includes the United States, Japan and some African countries.   

The White House Thursday reiterated its "confidence" in Wolfowitz. Spokeswoman Dana Perino said: "What the president has said is that Paul Wolfowitz apologized, and to let the board do its work."   

The board was meeting for the first time since last week revealing that Wolfowitz in 2005 personally ordered a hefty pay package worth nearly 200,000 dollars and guaranteed promotions for his girlfriend at the bank, Shaha Riza.   

On releasing a slew of documents showing Wolfowitz's intimate involvement in the generous pay deal, the directors said last Friday they would "move expeditiously" to decide on possible actions to take.   

The bank insider said the board would proceed "at a deliberate pace, but you can expect a sense of despair from many people who want change at the very top."   

On Sunday, at the annual spring meeting of bank ministerial policymakers, governments expressed "great concern" over the affair and supported the board's inquiry. Wolfowitz, meanwhile, vowed to fight on.   

After Wolfowitz took over the World Bank in June 2005, the Libyan-born Riza was sent on assignment to the US State Department to prevent any conflicts of interest. But she has remained on the bank's payroll.   

It has also emerged that while Wolfowitz was still at the Pentagon, Riza visited Baghdad as a consultant for US military contractor Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) in 2003, just after the US-led invasion of Iraq.   

That has fueled the anger of World Bank staff, who have long been fuming at Wolfowitz's attempts to revive a bank presence in Iraq, and over his appointment of former White House aides to jobs in his inner circle.   

While campaigning against corruption, Wolfowitz is also leading a drive to raise up to 25 billion dollars from rich donors to sustain the World Bank's development funding for the poorest countries.   

That has left some campaigners worried that governments in Europe could use his fate as a bargaining chip over the US government.   

The United States is by far the bank's biggest shareholder and has its own seat on the board, along with Japan, Germany, Britain and France. The 19 other directors represent the rest of the bank's 185 member states.