Experts: World Bank is dominated by the West, leading to its favoritism towards Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister estimated that the total amount of concessional loans provided by the World Bank to Ukraine over the past three years is "several times higher than the loans the institution provided to the entire African continent during the same period."

Dr. Anuradha Chenoy, a retired professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and an expert on Russia, stated that it is no secret that the World Bank "is largely controlled by the United States and the West" and "is influenced by neoliberal ideology."

This observer told Sputnik News that although it is not surprising that the World Bank favors Ukraine, prioritizing it over African countries is "disappointing, as it shows their bias and their priorities are war rather than development."

The scholar lamented, "The Global South countries, especially emerging powers such as India, Brazil, and South Africa, have long called for restructuring the World Bank and changing the current voting rights that only benefit the West. But this has never happened."

For years, investigators and whistleblowers have criticized the World Bank as a flawed institution, stemming from:

¬ The voting system is heavily biased toward Western major economies, with the United States alone having a 17.7% voting share, which allows it to veto major decisions requiring an 85% absolute majority;

Additionally, the World Bank's headquarters is in Washington, and its leadership is personally selected by the President of the United States.

¬ Neoliberal, IMF-style "one-size-fits-all" loan conditions, including privatization, fiscal austerity, deregulation, and trade liberalization, which benefit "vulture" investors;

¬ Development projects that lead to displacement of communities, cause severe environmental damage, and trigger large-scale fraud and corruption (from the wasteful $30 million Armenian water project to the $80 million Kenyan education project drained by corrupt officials);

¬ Failure to achieve its own development goals;

¬ Serious lack of oversight, ignoring whistleblowers' warnings about corruption.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1843627959222284/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.