Sox First

World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz is digging in over the contentious promotion and pay rise for his girlfriend but the problem is not going away.

This week World Bank staff launched a new website wolfowitzmustresign.blogspot.com drawing the world's attention to the "the corrupt, unethical, and bullying behavior of Bank President Paul Wolfowitz and his inner circle". It urges everyone to pressure World Bank directors into dumping him.

Add to that the allegations that the pentagon had ordered a contractor to employ his girlfriend Shaha Ali Riza. Wolfowitz was deputy defence secretary in the Pentagon at the time.

World corruption watchdog Transparency International has put out a statement warning that the controversy could undermine the World Bank's attempts to stop graft.

"Transparency International is deeply concerned that the current controversy could negatively affect the Bank's wider anti-corruption efforts, in particular the Governance and Anti-corruption Strategy," Transparency International said."The World Bank's credibility and leadership depend on the Board of Directors, including the Ethics Committee, the President and staff upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability. Like all organisations, the Bank must have systems and rules in place to ensure adherence to these standards. These rules must be vigorously enforced. Clearly in this case, serious errors of judgment and a breakdown in the system for handling conflicts of interest have occurred."

The question is whether the man has the credibility to root out corruption, says Bloomberg's William Pesek.

The arrogance and hubris that saw him cooking the Iraq intelligence books and promulgating the lie of WMDs is being repeated in this sordid little story, says Boston Globe columnist HDS Greenway, republished in the International Herald Tribune.

Wolfowitz is kidding himself if he thinks he can tough this one out. The calls for his resignation will keep coming. This problem will have to be resolved, one way or the other.