I have followed the race for the next WTO chief in this blog regularly here and here based on press reports. While the race is heating up, unexpected runners are coming into the fray. The WTO website announced that Ghana, on 17 December 2012, nominated Mr Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen for the post of WTO Director-General.Jordan had also planned to put up its candidate.
Reflecting on the concerns of less developed countries interests at the WTO, Ghana's candidate got support from some press reports here:
"From the mission, functions and principles of WTO highlighted above, it is clear in theory that the WTO is committed to serving the collective interests of all member states. In practice however, the role of WTO as a conduit for improved and democratic international trade has been very controversial as it seems to serve the interests of predominantly the major nations and multinational enterprises. It continuously remains governed by world superpowers to the detriment of the voiceless economies. Can we expect a more responsive, representative and sensitive global trade governance with the election of yet another illustrious son of Africa – Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen - as the Director General of the World Trade Organization?
In order that, the World Trade Organization (WTO) remains focused on its guiding principles, the need to reduce the influence of superpowers is paramount. There should be a redefined commitment to encourage sustained economic development and transparency. Not until this is done, there is little the developing world can do to compete favorably with the advanced world. Consequently, the effectiveness of WTO would be scarcely felt. In the events where the WTO does not give a listening ear to the concerns of the less-privileged nations, the dream and desire to bridge the inequality gap between the north and the south will everlastingly be a hallucination. Taking constructive actions to respect the views of the marginalized in the trade policy-making process is the surest way to address the anti-democratic and non-transparent negotiating procedures characterized by the World Trade Organization (WTO)."Some questions:
1. Will a Director General (DG) from a developing country or least developed world have a bearing on the interests of these countries at the WTO? Is it a matter of representation only or more substantive efforts can be made to make the WTO more concerned about developing country interests?
2. Will dispute settlement mechanism processes and outcomes be impacted by the nationality of the DG? In a rule-based system, how much impact does a DG from a developing world have on charting the course of disputes?
3. Will the focus of negotiation change because of the concerns of a DG from the south? If the WTO is a member driven organization then to what extent can the Secretariat and DG influence the course the WTO takes?
4. Does the WTO actually favor the interests of the developed economies? Is it as simple as that?
The previous DGs were from UK (Eric Wyndham White), Switzerland (Olivier Long and Arthur Dunkel), ireland (Peter Sutherland), Italy (Renato Ruggiero), New Zealand (Mike Moore), Thailand (Supachai Panitchpakdi) and France (Pascal Lamy).
Jordan, Ghana, New Zealand or another surprise .. whose next?
Update: Costa Rica, on 19 December 2012, nominated Minister Anabel González for the post of WTO Director-General
