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With Support from the US Treasury, World Bank Reinvents Tainted Aid Program for Ethiopia

D 10 mai 2016     H 05:40     A Oakland Institute     C 0 messages


Oakland, CA –Moral Bankruptcy : World Bank Reinvents Tainted Aid Program for Ethiopia, a new report
released today by the Oakland Institute, exposes the shameful reinvention of one of the Bank’s most
problematic programs in Ethiopia. The report also reveals that the US Treasury violated congressional
law when voting in favor of this program.

Moral Bankruptcy scrutinizes the World Bank’s new Enhancing Shared Prosperity through Equitable
Services (ESPES) program in Ethiopia. ESPES, meant to bring basic services to Ethiopians nationwide,
replaces the Bank’s Promoting Basic Services (PBS) program.
For years, the PBS program has been associated with human rights abuses and the forced relocation of
indigenous communities while paving the road for large-scale land grabs. These issues were highlighted
in a report by the World Bank’s own independent Inspection Panel in 2015. Rather than addressing the
grave concerns raised about the program, the Bank, instead, chose to launch an almost identical
initiative under a new name.

“The World Bank has turned a blind eye to the findings of the Inspection Panel and well-being of
indigenous communities in Ethiopia by conveniently re-launching PBS under a new name,” said
Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute.

“This incredibly irresponsible behaviour of
the Bank shows that it would rather uphold the status quo than protect vulnerable communities.”

The report provides an in-depth analysis of the ESPES program, revealing its many shocking flaws and
weaknesses. For instance, overlooking the climate of fear and government repression prevailing in
Ethiopia, it relies on marginalized communities to self-report the abuses they are victims of and on the
Government’s internal institutions to lead monitoring and evaluation efforts. Furthermore, the new
program uses the same financial systems that the Inspection Panel lambasted in its report.

The report also examines the US Appropriations Bills from 2012 to 2016 to reveal that the US Treasury
violated several of congressional laws by voting in favor of this program.
“Congressional laws exist to ensure that US tax payers’ dollars don’t contribute to social harm,” said
Mittal. “The fact that the US Treasury so blatantly ignored Congress’ orders is appalling. The US must
rectify the situation, and have the Treasury explain how it could ignore Congress and disregard the
protection of indigenous groups.”