Wolfowitz’s girlfriend makes more than Condi
How much does World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz love good governance? So much that his girlfriend has gotten two fat raises from the World Bank since 2005, when she was assigned to the U.S. State Department because of her relationship with Wolfowitz. Both this week’s New Yorker profile of Wolfowitz and an Al Kamen column ...
How much does World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz love good governance? So much that his girlfriend has gotten two fat raises from the World Bank since 2005, when she was assigned to the U.S. State Department because of her relationship with Wolfowitz. Both this week's New Yorker profile of Wolfowitz and an Al Kamen column in the Post have put Shaha Ali Riza, who's been dating Wolfowitz for the past five years, and her salary front and center—and Bank employees are in an uproar.
How much does World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz love good governance? So much that his girlfriend has gotten two fat raises from the World Bank since 2005, when she was assigned to the U.S. State Department because of her relationship with Wolfowitz. Both this week’s New Yorker profile of Wolfowitz and an Al Kamen column in the Post have put Shaha Ali Riza, who’s been dating Wolfowitz for the past five years, and her salary front and center—and Bank employees are in an uproar.
It seems that Riza, who was working at the Bank when Wolfowitz was nominated to be its president, was seconded to a position at State because Bank rules prohibit spouses or partners from supervising one another. To compensate for her career disruption, she was promoted to manager, a move Kamen calls “rare.” She was then handed two fat raises, which were far higher than what normal Bank rules would have allowed her to collect, even in her new position. She now makes nearly $200,000 a year, more than Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
It’s no secret that many Bank employees have chafed under Wolfowitz’s reign, but revelations of Riza’s possible preferential treatment have many outraged. The Bank’s Staff Association just sent around an internal email about the situation. Here are some choice quotes:
[W]e have been able to verify that [the terms of Riza’s assignment at State] are grossly out of line with the Staff Rules.[…]
[Riza] was given a promotion increase of 28%… – more than double the amount allowed by the Staff Rules.[…]
Since the performance of staff members on external assignment cannot be assessed and compared to that of their colleagues, Staff Rule 6.05 directs that their annual salary increases be set at the average percentage …For FY07, the average percentage was 3.7%; Ms. Riza’s annual increase this FY amounted to 7.5%.[…]
[W]e deplore this leak of a staff member’s confidential salary information. However, in this case, the information shared with the press reveals a violation of the Staff Rules and therefore seems to us a clear case of whistleblowing.
Given Wolfowitz’s crusade to fight corruption in countries that receive Bank aid, doesn’t it seem a little hypocritical to hand your girlfriend inordinate bonuses?
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