7 civil society organizations (CSOs), responded on 15 March to a World Bank questionnaire ConsultationThe Business Environment Enabling Project (BEE) will replace the discontinued Doing businesss Report (DBR), see Observer Winter 2021), with a highly critical submission stressing that the concept note fails to demonstrate that the BEE Project goes beyond a rebranding exercise of the DBR, as it fails to address longstanding criticisms of the Bank’s engagement in private sector advice generally and the DBR in particular. The submission was signed and acknowledged by:
- Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development
- Christian Aid
- Bretton Woods Project
- European Network on Debt and Development, (Eurodad).
- Society for International Development (SID).
- Third World Network (TWN).
- Urgewald
The submission points out that it is not acceptable for the World Bank’s to begin replacing the much-criticisedDoing Business ReportIt is important to address its fundamental flaw: the assumption that what is good international for private sector is automatically good national economic and social development.
As currently designed, the BEE will do nothing to address the challenges that developing countries are facing and going to face in the future – such as the energy transition, the creation of green and decent jobs, and meeting their international human rights obligations – nor will it support the World Banks ability to achieve its twin goals of ending poverty and increasing shared prosperity, particularly in the context of the divergent Covid-19 pandemic and the climate and inequality crises.
The group urges World Bank to end the BEE Project. Instead, they suggest the following steps:
- Before embarking on any new project, it is important that the World Bank reviews and assesses the impact on poverty and inequality of 17 years worth of DBR-inspired policy changes. This should be especially true in countries that have experienced rapid and large improvements in their scores. A diverse committee of international and domestic participants should lead such a review. They should include the voices and perspectives of all affected communities, entrepreneurs included, and focus on reparative justice. This exercise should be accompanied and analyzed by a review of the key national or global policy components in countries where private sectors have been successful on the basis for equitable economic growth, decent employment creation, and social advancement. It should also examine how past DBR policies influenced these cases.
- The World Bank should conduct a deep review of its understanding of the role that the private sector plays in development, in light of the Covid-19 recovery and the inequality/climate crises. This exercise should be aimed at developing a new private sector strategy and asking questions such as:
- What kind of private sector would be needed to reach the SDGs, improve the ability of states to meet their human right obligations, and achieve the twin goals of the World Bank to eradicate poverty and share prosperity?
- What is the role and responsibility of the state in this process
- What type of businesses are required? How can the World Bank support a private sector with sustainable and inclusive business models that encourage innovation, are redistributive, regenerative by design, and have a purpose beyond profit?
- What does a supportive ecosystem look like for inclusive and sustainable business in low and middle income countries? What regulations, policies, public service and relationship with the government are necessary?
- Is international trade and inclusion within global value chains beneficial for these processes? Or is it harmful and should it be limited or regulated?
- The World Bank must address its deep structural issues and implement the following measures suggested by 130 CSOs in a StatementSeptember 2021
- Stop the gentleman’s agreement during the leadership selection process. Reform the quota systems to give more power countries from the Global South, as well economic ideas and policy tools from global south, in an effort decolonize the World Bank Groups knowledge and decision-making systems. Policy conditionalityAll other forms of undue influences on the policy space in developing countries must also be terminated.
- Remove the ideological bias and support neoliberal policies, starting with the abandonment of a private-first agendaadopting a definition and practice of an enabling business environment, which aims to promote economic diversification and resilience. It also values people and the planet. Also, operations must align with the Sustainable Development Goals (and other international standards on human rights and labor in the environment).
- Examine the integrity and independence in the research and technical assistance of the World BankImplement reforms to increase internal and external scrutiny, avoid conflicts of interest, expose citizens to critical analysis, and facilitate greater transparency and citizen oversight
- Adopt a do no harm approachThrough its policy advice and lending operations systematic Human Rights Impact assessments. The Bank must also be more proactive with respect to the human rights framework.
You can read the summary here.