Tanzania: World Bank Suspends Funding For Ruaha National Park Project

The Ruaha National Park project was meant to double in the size as part of the project, but critics say the expansion has led to widespread abuses. Which the bank began their investigation last year after it was also accused of complicity in the right abuses. The World Bank On Tuesday, made statement that they are “deeply concerned” about the allegations. “We have therefore decided to suspend further disbursement of funds with immediate effect,” a spokesperson from the bank, which provides loans to developing countries, said.

Tourists watching Lions Ruaha National Park.

In an attempt to enhance the “management of natural resources and tourism assets in southern Tanzania particularly and several other national parks, the bank announced the Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (Regrow) project in 2017. The US-based think tank Oakland Institute claims that at least $100 million has already been paid for the initiative. There has been intense scrutiny surrounding efforts to extend the boundaries of Ruaha National Park, a 12,950-sq-km (5,000-sq-mile) conservation region that is home to lions and other wild species. For over a year Oakland Institute has reported alleged abuses linked to development which, while being funded by the bank, has been carried out by the Tanzanian authorities.

According to Oakland Institute, in September of last year, their research team spoke with a number of villagers who said that rangers supported by Regrow had sexually assaulted them.
The Oakland Institute also cited accusations in its book from a community organization and a Tanzanian MP alleging that civilians had been slain by rangers. The Tanzanian government “blatantly” broke bank policies by preparing to evict people without a written plan to resettle them, according to the institution, which also claimed that government agencies had seized cattle in large quantities in an attempt to drive residents off their land. The investigation alleged that the bank had “turned a blind eye to the horrific abuses unleased onto the communities”. The bank declared the next month that it was looking into the claims.

Zebras at the Ruaha National Park.

Anuradha Mittal, executive director of Oakland Institute, said the “long overdue” decision was a “crucial step towards accountability and justice” after the bank announced on Tuesday that it was suspending its financing of the Regrow project. “It sends a resounding message to the Tanzanian government that there are consequences for its rampant rights abuses taking place across the country to boost tourism.” The institution claimed that “adequate” and “prompt” restitution or justice should now be given to the villagers who had been “victims of gross human rights violations”. It further stated that the bank has stopped forceful eviction of communities.
The bank declared that it would “continue to work with the authorities and the local communities to ensure all possible “harmful repercussions” were avoided” and that it had “robust policies” in place to do so.

“The projects we finance are designed to support the livelihoods of the poorest and most vulnerable people, and we have robust policies in place to identify and avoid harmful impacts,”. “Recent information that we have obtained indicates possible policy violations during the REGROW project’s execution. As a result, we have chosen to  immediately stop disbursing cash going forward.” He Said

Rangers and tourists observing animals.

The government has been accused by organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch of forcibly evicting thousands of Tanzanians from the Maasai ethnic group in order to establish a game reserve in the northern Ngorongoro region. The accusations of abuse are not restricted to tourism projects in the south.

The accusations have already been refuted by the government but is yet to comment about this latest development.

Source: oneinfoafrica.com