By Enyichukwu Enemanna
President of the World Bank, David Malpass has indicated interest to step down from his position in June ahead of the 2024 expiration of his tenure of office, the bank had announced.
World Bank in a statement on Wednesday said Malpass, who was appointed by former US President, Donald Trump, had informed the board of his decision to quit after four years in office “to pursue new challenges”.
“It has been an enormous honour and privilege to serve as president of the world’s premier development institution alongside so many talented and exceptional people,” Malpass said in a statement.
The US and other big World Bank shareholders have been pressuring the bank over the past year to step up efforts on tackling global challenges, including climate change, alongside its traditional mandate of tackling global poverty.
Malpass declined a comment on whether he believed in human-caused climate change at a conference in September, despite repeated questioning a development that has caused more pressure. He later said he had been misunderstood.
The US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen had last week urged the bank’s leadership to “quickly” put in place reforms to free up more money to address climate change.
The US is the largest shareholder in the international finance institution, which provides funding for developing countries.
He tenure is to end April 2024.
