Global : A classic case of tackling corruption

Sir, Nkozi Okonjo-Iweala and Nick Stern rightly congratulate James Wolfensohn for his efforts to address corruption during his 10 years as president of the World Bank (“Success speaks for itself after a decade of change”, October 8). However, Mr Wolfensohn did not pluck the issue out of thin air. His success owes much to the efforts of an earlier generation of World Bank staffers; in particular Peter Eigen, who, after years of frustration trying to pursue development efforts in countries plagued by corruption, especially in West Africa, left the bank, returned to Germany, and started Transparency International.

Helped by others, many of whom were also former bank staff, including Frank Vogl, the FT's Washington correspondent before his period at the World Bank, TI undertook surveys throughout the world. From the results and other data it prepared its corruption index and other material in a form that Mr Wolfensohn and other opinion leaders could use to make the case for efforts to combat corruption.

I believe the success of this effort should be seen as a tribute to the World Bank community as a whole. In fact, it might be considered to be a classic story of how to take an issue of this type and tackle it in ways that lead to effective development-related efforts.

Financial Times, 13 October 2004
By John English

© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2004.