Post by fannoli on Dec 11, 2007 13:38:00 GMT -5
Should IMF and WorldBank influence be minimized in Albania?
Recently i read a book called "Confessions of an Economic Hitmen" also known by the acronym EHM. The book talks about how these "EHM" agents take advantage of poor countries through financial international institution. Bechtel is one of these companies in John Perkins list including Enron, Haliburton..etc Bechtel has been known for its low-quality standards in Croatia. Surprisingly they are building the road from Durres to Prishtina I've read news online about tender irregularities(how Bechtel should've not won the tender) and something is definately fishy..
Are we just rewarding US-companies?
Here is how Amazon.com describes it
Perkins writes that his economic projections cooked the books Enron-style to convince foreign governments to accept billions of dollars of loans from the World Bank and other institutions to build dams, airports, electric grids, and other infrastructure he knew they couldn't afford. The loans were given on condition that construction and engineering contracts went to U.S. companies. Often, the money would simply be transferred from one bank account in Washington, D.C., to another one in New York or San Francisco. The deals were smoothed over with bribes for foreign officials, but it was the taxpayers in the foreign countries who had to pay back the loans. When their governments couldn't do so, as was often the case, the U.S. or its henchmen at the World Bank or International Monetary Fund would step in and essentially place the country in trusteeship, dictating everything from its spending budget to security agreements and even its United Nations votes. It was, Perkins writes, a clever way for the U.S. to expand its "empire" at the expense of Third World citizens. While at times he seems a little overly focused on conspiracies, perhaps that's not surprising considering the life he's led. --Alex Roslin
Do you think these institutions should be kicked out of Albania and we should seek loans somewhere else?
Comments
Recently i read a book called "Confessions of an Economic Hitmen" also known by the acronym EHM. The book talks about how these "EHM" agents take advantage of poor countries through financial international institution. Bechtel is one of these companies in John Perkins list including Enron, Haliburton..etc Bechtel has been known for its low-quality standards in Croatia. Surprisingly they are building the road from Durres to Prishtina I've read news online about tender irregularities(how Bechtel should've not won the tender) and something is definately fishy..
Are we just rewarding US-companies?
Here is how Amazon.com describes it
Perkins writes that his economic projections cooked the books Enron-style to convince foreign governments to accept billions of dollars of loans from the World Bank and other institutions to build dams, airports, electric grids, and other infrastructure he knew they couldn't afford. The loans were given on condition that construction and engineering contracts went to U.S. companies. Often, the money would simply be transferred from one bank account in Washington, D.C., to another one in New York or San Francisco. The deals were smoothed over with bribes for foreign officials, but it was the taxpayers in the foreign countries who had to pay back the loans. When their governments couldn't do so, as was often the case, the U.S. or its henchmen at the World Bank or International Monetary Fund would step in and essentially place the country in trusteeship, dictating everything from its spending budget to security agreements and even its United Nations votes. It was, Perkins writes, a clever way for the U.S. to expand its "empire" at the expense of Third World citizens. While at times he seems a little overly focused on conspiracies, perhaps that's not surprising considering the life he's led. --Alex Roslin
Do you think these institutions should be kicked out of Albania and we should seek loans somewhere else?
Comments