[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

No Subject



>From majordom  Sun Oct  3 00:24:47 1999
Return-Path: <owner-dam-l@sandelman.ottawa.on.ca>
Received: from [[UNIX: localhost]] ([[UNIX: localhost]])
	by lox.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca (8.8.7/8.8.8) id AAA07856
	for dam-l-outgoing; Sun, 3 Oct 1999 00:24:45 -0400 (EDT)
Received: (from dianne@localhost)
	by lox.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca (8.8.7/8.8.8) id AAA07850
	for dam-l@sandelman.ottawa.on.ca; Sun, 3 Oct 1999 00:24:43 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from igc7.igc.org (igc7.igc.org [192.82.108.35])
	by lox.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca (8.8.7/8.8.8) with ESMTP id RAA17232
	for <dianne@sandelman.ottawa.on.ca>; Fri, 24 Sep 1999 17:50:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: owner-irn-safrica@igc.org
Received: by igc7.igc.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) id OAA14802;
	Fri, 24 Sep 1999 14:47:01 -0700 (PDT)
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 14:47:01 -0700 (PDT)
Message-Id: <199909242147.OAA14802@igc7.igc.org>
Received: from lanshark.lanminds.com (lanshark.lanminds.com [208.25.68.5])
	by igc7.igc.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id OAA14535
	for <irn-safrica@apc.org>; Fri, 24 Sep 1999 14:46:14 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from [208.25.72.78] (irn13.there.net [208.25.72.78])
	by lanshark.lanminds.com (8.8.8/8.8.7) with ESMTP id OAA20245
	for <irn-safrica@apc.org>; Fri, 24 Sep 1999 14:46:12 -0700 (PDT)
To: "undisclosed-recipients:;"@lox.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca
Sender: dianne
Precedence: bulk
Reply-To: dam-l@sandelman.ottawa.on.ca

>Korinna Horta, Environmental Defense Fund (Korinna_Horta@edf.org)
>Tel. 202-387-3500
>Cell phone 917-560-6450
>
>Patrick McCully, International Rivers Network (patrick@irn.org)
>Tel. 510-848-1155 (wk)
>       510-528-2930 (hm)
>
>GROUPS CALL ON WORLD BANK TO BAN COMPANIES IN AFRICAN BRIBERY SCANDAL
>
>Environmental groups are calling on the World Bank to debar companies
>accused of bribing the former head of a Bank-funded dam project in Southern
>Africa. A dozen major international dam-building companies involved in the
>Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) have lavishly bribed the official,
>allegedly depositing over $2 million in bribes into his Swiss bank accounts.
>The bribes were revealed in July in a court case brought by the Lesotho
>government against the official.
>
>"We call on the World Bank to debar these companies until this case is
>resolved," said Patrick McCully, International River Network's Campaigns
>Director. "If its proven that bribes were paid the World Bank must
>permanently blacklist these companies from any further contracts. Letting
>these companies off the hook would violate World Bank guidelines and
>contradict its stated policy of fighting corruption," said McCully.
>
>Correspondence between the World Bank and the Lesotho government from 1994
>reveals that not only was the Bank aware of corruption allegations, it
>actively tried to prevent the official's suspension. Yet now Bank officials
>claim they only discovered the allegations in July 1999. "The World Bank
>must conduct a full investigation of its role in this scandal," said Korinna
>Horta, Senior Environmental Economist with the Environmental Defense Fund.
>
>Scandal Background
>
>"The list of corrupt companies reads like a who's who of the international
>dam-building industry," said McCully, and includes such industry giants as
>Italy's Impregilo and the Swiss/Swedish concern ABB. The bribe amounts
>ranged from a low of $2,456 to a high of $733,404 according to the charge
>sheet filed against the official, Masupha Sole.
>
>The LHWP is Africa's largest infrastructure project, involving five dams,
>miles of tunnels through the Lesotho mountains and a small hydropower
>component. "Controversial from the start, the project was initiated without
>critical environmental studies on erosion and downstream impacts, despite
>the potentially huge impacts of diverting such a large amount of water,"
>said Horta. "The project has had an extremely negative impact on the
>vulnerable rural Highlands communities who have lost fields, grazing lands
>and access to fresh water sources due to construction of the project," she
>added.
>
>The World Bank has lent more than $150m for the project, and played a
>critical role in getting it off the ground. When the Bank found out in 1994
>that the government of Lesotho was attempting to remove Sole, it sent a
>strongly worded letter insisting that the government take no action against
>him because it would "seriously jeopardize the progress of the project." A
>copy of the letter is available to reporters (see contact info. below).
>
>--30--
>
>For a 4-page backgrounder on the bribery scandal (including a full list of
>the companies involved and the bribe amounts), 1994 letter from the World
>Bank to the Lesotho government and other background materials, please
>contact Elizabeth Buchanan at Fenton Communications: tel. 202-822-5200;
>202-490-0528 (pager); e-mail: liz@fenton.com; or Ross Hammond, tel.
>415-695-7492, e-mail: margross@igc.org
>
>Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 13:12:54 -0700
>From: "Ross Hammond" <margross@igc.org>
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>
>September 24, 1999
>For Immediate Release:
>
>Subject: Rls: Groups Call On World Bank To Ban Companies In African
>Bribery Scandal
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 14:17:23 -0800
From: Patrick McCully <patrick@irn.org>
Message-Id: <v0401170bb411a5b80f37@[208.25.72.78]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Precedence: bulk
Sender: owner-irn-safrica@igc.org
Subject: Groups Call On World Bank To Ban Companies In African Bribery
 Scandal
To: irn-safrica@apc.org
X-Sender: patrick@pop.lmi.net