WASHINGTON - World Bank employees have condemned the exit deal that allows disgraced president Paul Wolfowitz to leave office in June as a fresh blow to the lender's integrity.
The compromise deal announced late Thursday between the bank's 24 executive directors and Wolfowitz accepted that mistakes were made on all sides, but they were done "in good faith."
"Welcome though it is, the president's resignation is not acceptable under the present arrangement," the Staff Association said in a statement Thursday.
"It completely undermines the principles of good governance and the principles that the staff fight to uphold," said the association.
The employees group had called for Wolfowitz's resignation on April 12, shortly after media revealed he had personally secured lucrative promotions package for his girlfriend, a bank employee.
Given the conclusions of an internal probe of the scandal finding Wolfowitz had breached bank rules and tried to cover it up, they wrote, "we are shocked by the statement from the board ... which represents a full reversal of their own findings."
If the resignation deal cannot be changed, the board of directors should place Wolfowitz on administrative leave and appoint an acting-president to handle bank business, the staff said.
"In addition, we believe that in order to protect staff and safeguard against any retaliation, the board should also ensure that Mr. Wolfowitz is prevented from making any decisions affecting the work of the bank or its staff."
On Friday, a senior World Bank official appealed to employees to move beyond the "very difficult and trying time."
"I know a good many of us may feel that this consensus is less than perfect, but it does start to bring to an end this period of institutional crisis that we have been living through," said Joy Phumaphi, vice president for the Human Development Network.
05/18/2007 18:15 GMT