Tanzania Government Reacts to Sh1.2 Trillion World Bank Loan Delay

Tanzania Government spokesman Hassan Abbasi 

By Khalifa Said

Dar es Salaam — The government spoke out yesterday on the World Bank's decision to delay a Sh1.2 trillion education loan, asserting that negotiations with the international lender were ongoing to

ensure it secures the funding.

"A loan is about negotiation, it's a contract. The World Bank was set to decide on the loan (on Tuesday) but postponed it to today (yesterday), what are the issues there?", government spokesman Hassan Abbasi said in response to a question about the matter at a press conference in Dodoma.

When asked about allegations by Kigoma Urban MP (ACT-Wazalendo) Zitto Kabwe in a recent interview that the government is planning to use the money to fund the coming 2020 General Election, Abbas said the allegations were false and equated the claims to those of a "mad man."

Yesterday's reaction by the government was the first since the bank abruptly called off a meeting of its executive board early in the week where members had been expected to grant the loan. The facility was for improvement of access to quality education and inclusion of the vulnerable, especially young girls.

A spirited campaign by local and international gender and human rights activists reportedly secured the delay and are pushing for the shelving of the WB loan to Tanzania altogether over what they have described as deterioration of civil liberties in the country. They singled out the ban on pregnant girls from public school re-entry after birth.

In their letter to the bank, the activists made seven demands that they want authorities in Tanzania to address before the WB releases the loan. They argued that it would be "inappropriate if not irresponsible" for the bank to approve the $500m facility without "ensuring the necessary checks [are] in place."

"The burden should be on the government of Tanzania to demonstrate that it is serious about girls' and women's rights and the rule of law before this loan is dispersed," says the three-page letter by the activists.

Apart from the letter, the activists have also launched an online petition on the same on Avaaz, a platform that promotes global activism which at press time had surpassed its 5000 target by garnering more than 6000 signatures.

In the letter, the activists call for the enactment of legislation that affirms the right of pregnant schoolgirls to choose to attend regular secondary schools or the "alternative education pathways" suggested by the government in the Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQUIP) project. The government has shelved a 2009 policy guideline that established how pregnant girls can continue schooling.

The ban on pregnant firls means it will no longer be a matter of choice as the only option by the government is for the girls to enroll for adult education or join Folk Development Colleges (FDCs).

The activists also wanted an end to the forcible testing of schoolgirls for pregnancy, restoration of and access to family planning programmes as well as the release from remand prison rights activists currently facing various criminal and unbailable charges.

Other demands include review of the nongovernmental organisation law to remove the government's authority to de-register NGOs at whim, and allow for the conduct of charitable activities without unnecessary restrictions on registration and compliance.

"The World Bank faces a choice. It can affirm gender equity, the rights of girls and women, human rights and the rule of law, and condition this project on the items listed above, or it can approve the project, throw its support behind misogyny and authoritarianism, and be complicit with the abuses of this government in an election year," the activists wrote.

But some scholars and analysts had different take on the matter. A Prof of economics at the University of Dar es Salaam Haji Semboja told The Citizen yesterday that the denial of the loan will seriously impact the country's education development and the economy in general.

"The impact is massive and it is important that the WB rethinks its decision for bowing to the activists' pressure will not only complicate its mission in the country (to end poverty) but also runs the risks of affecting its relationship with the government," said Prof Semboja.

Prof Semboja declined to say whether the activists' demands are valid or not, suggesting instead that they could have been dealt with through local initiatives and engagements. The activists have however dismissed this suggestion as impractical, citing the current political situation in the country as less conducive for serious engagement with authorities.

Prof Honest Ngowi of Mzumbe University who acknowledged a negative impact should the loan not be issued says; "The key lesson from this debate is the familiar one and this concerns the importance of being self-sufficient as a nation. The level of donor dependency in our development efforts - like education--is discriminatively heavy and this has to change."

A resource and environmental economist from the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) Felister Mombo said the activists' demand was "too unrealistic." Prof Mombo urges the government not to change course and go back to the negotiating table with the bank and makes its case clear - again.