COSATU+on+visit+of+Paul+Wolfowitz



=COSATU statement on the visit of Paul Wolfowitz=


 * June 17th, 2005**

The Congress of South African Trade Unions will //not// be welcoming the visit next week of Paul Wolfowitz, the new President of the World Bank.

We believe that Mr Wolfowitz embodies all the worst features of the international financial institutions – the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Like them, he has been dedicated to entrenching the power of big business and multinational corporations, at the expense of the workers and the poor. He will do nothing to make the World Bank more accountable or responsive to the needs of the world’s poor countries.

On the contrary, Wolfowitz’s record, as a right-wing ‘hawk’, architect of the US-led, illegal invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and his involvement in the ‘reconstruction’ of Iraq, suggests that he is likely to move the World Bank in an even more pro-capital and anti-poor direction.

His recent role in Iraq has been to preside over a project riddled with corruption, cronyism and incompetence, which has failed to deliver the basic services it promised the Iraqi people.

He will now be implementing similar policies in the rest of the world, pushing for more privatisation, tariff removal and trade liberalisation, all of which favour the big western business monopolies. He is likely to oppose moves to protect poor economies from unfair competition from the big powers or to safeguard the environment from further degradation by capitalist companies.

COSATU endorses the view of Joseph Stiglitz, former chief economist of the World Bank, that Wolfowitz’s appointment is "an act of provocation" that could "bring street protests and violence across the developing world".

We urge the South African government to stick firmly to policies which are in the interests of the people of Africa and the rest of the poor Southern countries and to resist any pressure from Wolfowitz to water down these policies in favour of his pro-business views.

Congress of South African Trade Unions 1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets Braamfontein, 2017
 * Paul Notyhawa (Spokesperson)

P.O.Box 1019 Johannesburg, 2000 South Africa

Cell: 082 491 1591 Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24 Fax: +27 11 339-5080/6940 E-Mail: patrick@cosatu.org.za**