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发信人: Porod (扬之水◎Love in One Day), 信区: English
标题: An angel flies into some flak
发信站: 哈工大紫丁香 (Fri Apr 20 07:19:54 2007), 转信

Apr 19th 2007 | LONDON AND PARIS
From The Economist print edition

A think-tank’s Mexican boss steers his staid agency into turbulent waters

THE travails of Paul Wolfowitz are being regarded with trepidation in the
upper ranks of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) at its fine chateau in the western corner of Paris. “Watching what
has been going on in Washington, I was wondering if anything would come
out about what is going on at the OECD,” says one of a handful of senior
directors who have left in the turbulent months since the arrival of Angel
Gurría as secretary-general.

Whereas the World Bank story is all about whether or not Mr Wolfowitz did
or did not break some rules, the OECD events suggest an organisation that
seems to be lacking in modern rules and practices when it comes to its own
internal workings. So a 30-nation think-tank, devoted to promoting best
practice in governance, has governance issues of its own. Concern over the
lack of transparent competition in filling some appointments led the Canadian
delegation to draw attention, in a letter to Mr Gurría dated April 4th,
to the fact that “the OECD secretariat and its senior management must embody
, and be seen to embody, the very highest standards of good governance. Anything
less can threaten the integrity and credibility of the organisation.”

Mr Gurría made his name as Mexico’s finance minister in the late 1990s,
steering it to health with spending cuts that earned him the nickname Se
?or Scissorhands. But now some senior figures, including some OECD ambassadors
from north European countries, wonder where the OECD is heading with this
ebullient figure at the helm. They fear the staid old body, which churns
out economic analysis and recommendations, may drift into dangerous waters
. The contrast with his predecessor, a very Canadian lawyer, Donald Johnston
, is stark. Mr Johnston spent a decade trimming waste and extravagance, like
the tax-free supermarket enjoyed by the 2,200 staff on top of other normal
expatriate perks, such as school fees.

Careful spending
Mr Gurría insists that he too focuses on spending money carefully. “Taxpayers
want to know their [money] is being spent where it’s best,” he said recently
. Really? Before he took office, a decision was taken to refurbish the top
man’s 480-square-metre (5,000-square-foot) apartment in the poshest bit
of the swanky 16th arrondissement of Paris. The original cost estimate of
around €600,000 ($815,000) grew to a final cost of €733,000. Even that was
not the actual total, because some €300,000 was shunted off to other budgets
. A document that The Economist has seen claims the upgrade “was necessary
to preserve the value of the [OECD’s] asset”. Chris Brooks, head of communications
at the OECD, says Mr Gurría had no involvement in the refurbishment, but
nevertheless the cost escalation happened on his watch.

The OECD wants to convert itself from a rich countries’ club into a “globalisation
hub”, gradually absorbing more countries. Mr Gurría was chosen not least
because he warmly embraced a drive, led by Britain’s delegation (at least
according to its ambassador), to modernise the agency’s employment practices
—for instance, by bringing more transparency to top-level jobs.

But Mr Gurría’s many critics are appalled at the way he handled the appointment
of a new executive director to run the OECD’s operations. The original
internal candidate, nominated by Mr Gurría’s predecessor with Mr Gurrí
a’s backing, saw the job offer withdrawn. Mr Brooks says this was because
some ambassadors objected to the process by which the candidate had been
selected. Now Mr Gurría has opted for Patrick van Haute, the Belgian ambassador
, whose appointment as executive director was announced on April 18th. Again
, some ambassadors were startled: “not the most compelling possible candidate
,” said one.

Technically Mr Gurría can appoint anyone he wants. But some of the ambassadors
were furious that the selection of a candidate for one of the most sensitive
posts at the OECD was not being conducted as transparently as the new human
-resources policy, due to be introduced at the end of this year, would require
. Although there was no competition for the job, Mr Brooks says the process
met the best international standards.

The ambassadors, who form the governing council of the OECD, summoned Mr
Gurría to an extraordinary meeting last month to discuss this and other
appointments. To some these ran the risk of a perception of nepotism and
cronyism: his daughter was offered a job, as was the husband of Gabriela
Ramos whom Mr Gurría plucked from running the Mexico office to be number
two in his private office in Paris. In the process, Mr Gurría upgraded
the post that Mrs Ramos was taking up.

By the time Mr Gurría met the ambassadors for a second meeting four days
later (“to clear the air”, according to one participant), the daughter
had stepped down. “There have been concerns about his judgment,” says
another ambassador. As for Mr Ramos, Mr Brooks says he was more than qualified
for the job.

Many of the envoys had been unhappy at the pay deal Mr Gurría landed on
top of the rent-free residence. His basic pay of €183,000 was boosted by
a confidential package: an expatriate’s allowance of €33,000 (unprecedented
for the top man), a household allowance of €11,000 and a “representation
” allowance boosted to €50,000. That latter can be spent as he thinks best
and is not subject to audit. A rather loose definition of “normal expenses
” led to some raised eyebrows among officials who saw an invoice for a wedding
anniversary dinner for Mr Gurría with his wife, according to a document
seen by The Economist. Officials had pointed out to him that this type of
expense could not be reimbursed. A spokesman says these were personal expenses
and were not processed.

Officials were also startled at his appetite for corporate hospitality. Not
satisfied with the initial allocation for the France-Mexico football match
last May, offered by Eugênio Minvielle, boss of Nestlé France, the food
company, Mr Gurría’s office asked for another four tickets so that his
wife and daughter could go, along with Mr and Mrs Ramos. At least this is
what e-mails seen by The Economist show.

His largesse extends to his home country. When South Korea wanted a special
OECD event held last September in Seoul to celebrate ten years’ membership
, it had to pay the fares for the experts flying out from Paris. But a special
OECD-led event in Mexico in February this year was treated differently.
Insiders say it was the first initiative Mr Gurría took after he moved into
his new job. He roped in other agencies such as the United Nations, the
IMF and the World Bank to sponsor the meeting.

This grand affair was attended by many senior Mexican politicians including
the president, Felipe Calderón, and covered extensively in the local media
. Mr Gurría had the OECD pay his expenses of €9,400; the total cost of the
Paris delegation’s visit was nearly €50,000. The whole event broke with
previous procedures. Mr Brooks says that the OECD did nothing differently
from the other agencies that attended the event. Back in Paris some staff
were appalled at this apparent favouritism. “We used to have a secretary
-general who worked for the organisation; we now have an organisation that
works for the secretary-general,” says one insider.

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困境有一种特殊的科学价值，有智慧的人是不会放弃这个通过它而进行学习的机会的。　

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