Its failings paint a picture of an organisation in need of reform
is the most important African development institution in a region with about 70% of the world’s extremely poor people. The World Bank is far larger, but the, with its headquarters in Abidjan, the commercial capital of Ivory Coast, focuses exclusively on the continent. It has a strong record of spending on things that African governments prioritise.
The events leading to his flight began with a seemingly trivial disagreement over the bank’s policy that staff had to remain in Abidjan, even while working from home during the pandemic. Mr Michelitsch, who strongly disagreed with this, told his team that he would be flexible in cases of hardship or maternity leave.
Outsiders saw this incident as having a chilling effect on accountability. A letter signed by nine independent evaluators of multilateral institutions, including those of the World Bank and, said the firing “cuts directly to a fundamental and long-standing principle of independent evaluation”. Mr Michelitsch, who declined to comment for this story, has since taken his case to a tribunal established by the bank, but which operates independently.
Some appointments have raised eyebrows. One member of staff was appointed to a senior oversight role requiring integrity and deep trust from staff. Yet a few years earlier the same member of staff signed a statement to the bank’s ombudsman admitting to having made a false allegation of sexual harassment. The allegation was withdrawn and the member of staff blamed stress.
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