The World Bank says it would withhold further disbursement from a $150 million fund meant for expansion of a national park in southern Tanzania, citing alleged killings and evictions by rangers last year.
According to the World Bank’s independent verification, two anonymous complainants have accused rangers from the Ruaha National Park of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, evictions, torture and cattle seizures perpetrated against local villagers.
“The World Bank is deeply concerned about the allegations of abuse and injustice related to the… project in Tanzania,” a spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.
It added, “We have therefore decided to suspend further disbursement of funds with immediate effect.”
Government spokesman Mobhare Matinyi said the allegations were false but that the government was investigating “to see if there was any misconduct from any staff so that it takes appropriate action”.
He said the suspended final tranche of the loan amounted to $25 million.
Several Tanzanian government initiatives to expand tourism have faced criticism from human rights advocates, including in the north of the country where thousands of Maasai have been evicted from their traditional homelands.
A report last year by the Oakland Institute, a California-based think-tank, accused Ruaha park rangers of sexual violence, and said local communities across Tanzania were bearing the cost of generating tourism revenues under the guise of protecting the environment.
The government says expanding the tourism sector is key to economic development and that it has provided fair compensation to people evicted from their homes.
The World Bank project was approved by its board in 2017 and is expected to end in February 2025.
The federal government has approved a memo from the Ministry of Interior to fast-track the…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has handed over $22,000 recovered from…
The University of Cambridge, Judge Business School, United Kingdom, will be hosting the Abia State…
The Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has said that with the plan the…
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has paid a condolence visit…
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said members of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party…