WB director speaks to civil society leaders

“There is no single ‘correct’ way of organizing governance reforms,” said World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who spoke to top business, university, and nongovernment leaders during a first-ever visit to the Philippines on 6 December 2010.

In a forum organized by the Asian Institute of Management, Makati Business Club, and the Movement for Good Governance and hosted at the Ateneo Professional Schools, Indrawati said “There is no doubt in my mind that an institutional home is needed to tackle what are likely the most difficult challenges a government faces.”

“A country can move only as fast as its politics allows,” she said.  “To me good governance is about fairness and equity. It means that when government officials apply laws and policies, they do so impartially, not influenced by personal relationships, likes and dislikes.”

According to her, “A good governance agenda…needs to reach beyond efforts to tackle corruption to build strong and sustainable institutions of the state. It also should empower citizens through transparency and participation.”

Indonesia’s minister of finance before joining the Bank, Ms Indrawati is one of three managing directors who, with World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick, make up the Bank’s Senior Management Team. She oversees Bank operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, and the Middle East and North Africa.