World Bank candidate Ocampo calls for shake up

World Bank presidential candidate Jose Antonio Ocampo has called for a change in culture at the organisation and more co-operation with other global lenders. The Colombian also said the bank had lost ground to other development banks and had not been forceful enough in pushing for fresh funding. He pointed the finger at outgoing president Robert Zoellick for the lack of capital.

Ocampo is one of three candidates vying to replace Zoellick. The other two are Nigeria’s Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and US citizen Dr Jim Yong Kim. Ocampo said the World Bank needed to become more inclusive. “The bank has to be a client-based organisation. The first thing the staff have to learn is that working at the country level is actually an improvement in its role for the bank, rather than working in Washington,” said the economist and former finance minister. “I think sincerely the problem of working for the World Bank is the sense of superiority.”

But he saved his strongest criticisms for Zoellick. “The current president was too shy in asking for a capital increase,” he said. “All the other development banks got huge recapitalisations… The World Bank did not, and I think that’s the reason why now the bank is decreasing its lending significantly.”

BBC