Banking on reforms can take its time

It can slow down proposed reforms for years. It can keep entrenched interests in place and provide them with a myriad of weapons that enable them to fight positive change.

This is not, however, to deride the World Bank’s efforts; the World Bank’s transport divisions play a very useful role but sometimes they can be just a tad bureaucratic. Indeed, it has to be said that the World Bank itself spends a lot of effort on dragging parties to the “altar of change” and, figuratively speaking, saying “sign here”.

Where corruption is manifest then obviously there are big incentives for certain parties to fight change and offer up a thousand ideas why, for instance, it is appropriate to retain the involvement of a given port authority in port operations. The few benefit, the majority lose out.

Somewhere in this process, however, it becomes painstakingly self-evident that there has to be change – reforms become essential. Melt-down has to be avoided. At this point, when, for example, a port has to dredge to accommodate larger vessel sizes, it has exhausted its cargo handling capacity in key areas, port users are frustrated, it is not properly addressing road and rail connections into the hinterland and has had a plethora of studies undertaken in recent years as to how it should march into the future then it is a time to act and not to dither.

It is in this context that the World Bank usually can only play a limited role – a role based on recommendations. Ultimately, the government agencies or port authority concerned have to decide. What is notable, today, however, with the World Bank’s ports division in particular is that it is much more focused on empowering itself with the right information with which to back up recommendations and decisions. As such, it can exert greater pressure for change.

There are still certain problems – too much theory cast upon on the ground reports – but overall it is a big step in the right direction.