United States Representative Gwen Moore has issued a public letter to the president of the World Bank Group (WBG) raising concerns about its role in the water sector, calling on the Bank to stop funding and promoting water privatization pending an independent review and congressional hearings on conflicts of interest created by its investments in water privatizers.
The World Bank is also alleged to be complicit in a controversial water Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Lagos.
Rep. Moore particularly noted the role of the World Bank private arm- the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as advisor to governments and marketer of PPPs which have proved disastrous in several countries including the Philippines and India.
The letter, released yesterday (April 12), was addressed to World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim, with copies to U.S. Secretary of Treasury Jacob Lew and newly appointed IFC Executive Vice President and CEO Philippe Le Houérou. It comes in the wake of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, where an anti-democratic model of governing led to a public health catastrophe. The inquiry focuses on the WBG’s conflict of interest resulting from its multiple roles as advisor to governments, worldwide marketer of privatization models—such as PPPs—and investor in private water corporations that benefit from the very projects it facilitates.