World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz said Sunday "I intend to continue" the global development lender''s work on combatting poverty despite being engulfed in a pay scandal. "This is important work and I intend to continue it," he told a news conference after talks among World Bank ministers who expressed their "great concern" over the scandal.
"We intend to abide by a high standard of internal governance here at the bank," Wolfowitz said, adding: "It''s a serious issue." Referring to the ministers'' statement, he said: "I think it speaks for all of us on our desire for the board to look into the matter and to conclude its work. We''ll let them complete their work.
"I''m not going to preempt what they''re doing by getting into discussion of it here." The bank''s board of executive directors has revealed that Wolfowitz personally ordered a pay package worth nearly 200,000 dollars and guaranteed promotions for his bank employee girlfriend, Shaha Riza. The board of 24 executive directors, dominated by the United States, Japan and European powers, is reviewing what steps it should take next.
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