World Bank on aid losses through corruption

[Chris Burford]

At 09:02 AM 8/19/98 -0400, you wrote:
>Today, Aug 19, the WSJournal reports the World Bank estimating 20% of Bank
>project money in Indonesia was siphoned off by officials.  For development
>funds generally they estimate 20 to 30%.  I've seen other, higher, figures
>on this list, maybe up to 50%.  Anyone care to comment?
>
>Randy Earnest

I suspect a degree of cultural arrogance in this. Although Suharto's
cronies appear to be widely detested, the giving of gifts to establish
trust, social status, and reliability is not a silly custom, even if it not
very progressive. These sorts of headlines, are designed to justify a
thorough bourgeois revolution in business practices, which will benefit
major transnational companies.

Chris Burford