NGOs doubt future of Asia's poor under ADB
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 07:53:00 05/04/2008
Filed Under: Banking, Protest, civil society, Social Issues, Poverty, Personal Finance
MANILA, Philippines -- Asian non-government organizations (NGOs) say the future looks bleak for Asia's poor, blaming the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) "pursuit of private sector development at the expense of poverty-alleviation efforts, and community and environmental interests."
In a joint statement sent Sunday from Madrid, where the ADB is holding its 41rst annual meeting, also asked Bank president Haruhiko Kuroda to answer questions regarding what they said was "corruption in ADB projects in Afghanistan, the use of child labor in ADB projects in Central Asia and development projects gone awry in ADB developing member countries such as West Seti in Nepal."
"The corporatization of Asia is obviously the main agenda under the ADB's Long-Term 2020 Strategy," Isagani Serrano of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement was quoted as saying in the statement.
The NGOs noted the recent controversy over ADB investments in off-shore private equity funds and "an unprecedented delay in the vote to replenish the Asian Development Fund."
Replenishment of the ADF, which provides grants and low-interest loans to the Asia and Pacific's poorest countries, "is usually agreed months ahead of the ADB annual meeting," the statement said. The new ADF will be for 2009-2012.
"It is clear 41 years after its founding that there is no future for Asia's poor under the ADB. Under the ADB, physical, economic and political displacement of communities in Asia will be massive," Serrano said.
"The ADB can boast all it wants about the replenishment of the ADF but the fact is that the delay is a reflection of dissatisfaction and disagreements amongst the Bank donors," Stephanie Fried of Environmental Defense Fund said.
Titi Soentoro, of the Indonesian group, NADI, cited a recent Financial Times report on the material risks associated with over $600 million in ADB investments in offshore private equity funds, many based in the Cayman Islands.
"We are deeply concerned at the near-total lack of transparency regarding these funds and their unclear relevance to poverty-alleviation efforts," Seontoro said
On the other hand, Red Constantino of the NGO Forum on the ADB, which keeps tabs on the Bank and its policies, reminded the ADB that it "has environmental and social safeguards which must be applied to private equity operations but we see no evidence that this is happening."
"We have requested that President Kuroda release the names of all companies and projects financed by these funds as well as all of their social and environmental assessments," Constantino said.
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