Top Wolfowitz aide resigns from World Bank
Published: Monday May 7, 2007
A top aide to embattled World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz resigned Monday, saying the controversy surrounding the development lender made it difficult for him to be effective.
Kevin Kellems, the director of strategy and an adviser to Wolfowitz since June 2005, told AFP he had resigned to pursue other opportunities.
"Given the current environment surrounding the leadership of the World Bank Group, it is very difficult to be effective in helping to advance the mission of the institution," he said.
"Therefore I have decided to leave for other opportunities."
Wolfowitz has been under fire since early April for his role in arranging a pay hike and promotion for his companion and fellow World Bank employee, Shaha Riza, when she was seconded to the US State Department after he became bank president in June 2005.
Wolfowitz has told an investigatory panel he acted on the advice of the bank's ethics committee in trying to resolve a potential conflict of interest between himself and Riza.
But bank officials contend that he was never directed to personally order guaranteed promotions and a pay deal worth nearly 200,000 dollars for his Libyan-born companion.
The lingering controversy is threatening to hobble the World Bank's traditional lending and development activities, notably an anti-corruption campaign targeting beneficiaries of bank assistance.
Wolfowitz last week responded to criticism saying he had acted within World Bank rules in requesting pay hikes and promotions for Riza.
"It is grossly unfair and wrong to suggest that I intended to mislead anyone, and I urge the committee to reject the allegation that I lack credibility," Wolfowitz said in a letter to a World Bank investigatory panel.
"I vehemently deny that I went beyond what I understood to be the guidance I received" from bank officials, Wolfowitz said.
The spat between the World Bank president and key high-level staffers has pitched the institution into crisis amid an internal inquiry into Wolfowitz's actions.
The investigatory panel is due to report its findings to the bank's board soon although it is unclear what course of action the board may take despite mounting calls for Wolfowitz's resignation.
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Top_Wolfowitz_aide_resigns_from_Wor_05072007.html