Tanzania: New Twist in Sh1.2tr World Bank Loan

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Children’s Rights director Zama Neff asked the WB to use its leverage from the loan until Tanzania lifts a ban on pregnant girls re-entering school and reaffirm their right to study in formal primary and lower-secondary schools. 

By The Citizen Reporter

Dar es Salaam — The World Bank is to delay the release of $500m (Sh1.2tr) soft loan to Tanzania meant for...

education quality and inclusion improvement programmes, it has been confirmed.

The decision to delay the approval of the loan which has been pending since 2018 came in the backdrop of spirited campaigns in recent days by human rights activists to stop the World Bank from granting the money.

The activists argue that authorities in Tanzania have not demonstrated respect for the rights of pregnant girls to access education unhindered as the mammoth project envisages.

The World Bank's executive board was due to meet yesterday in Washington DC to approve the loan facility but the meeting was abruptly called off on Monday. Sources in the institution confirmed the delay to The Citizen yesterday evening.

The last minute decision by the WB would likely unsettle the government that has been upbeat about the loan and expected a positive outcome from Washington. Cable News Network (CNN) that has closely followed the campaign by the activists first reported about the postponement of Tuesday's meeting. CNN reported that members of the civil society met some of the directors of the WB shortly before the delay was made.

In Dar es Salaam, authorities were not ready to comment on the latest development, with sources privy to the matter preferring to wait for an official announcement by the ministry of finance which is handling the discussions with the World Bank on behalf of the government. An officer at the Finance Ministry's communications unit, Mr Ben Mwaipaja, told The Citizen that he would follow up the details.

"It's now past office hours, I will find out when in the office" he said when asked whether the ministry had been notified about further delay of the WB education loan.

Our WB sources said the delay was occasioned by one of the executive board members who on Monday filed for a postponement on the final seal to the loan. According to the source, there was no immediate information on the reasons cited by the dissenting member of the executive board.

"They are allowed to do that when a vote is impending but there has not been an official communication yet," said the source who wished to remain anonymous as the bank would issue the official position. Questions filed by The Citizen to the bank had not been replied to by the time of filing this report.

But according to our sources, the delay means a new date would have to be set to listen to the case by the member who requested the postponement. "It would take anything from 48 hours, days or even some weeks to convene again over the case," explained the source when asked what the delay means.

Ahead of Tuesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) Children's Rights director Zama Neff asked the WB to use its leverage from the loan until Tanzania lifts a ban on pregnant girls re-entering school and reaffirm their right to study in formal primary and lower-secondary schools.

"The World Bank understands that providing girls with safe, quality secondary education is crucial for Tanzania's future, but this shouldn't come at the expense of pregnant girls," said Ms Neff in a statement released by Human Rights Watch.

Tanzanian civil society groups wrote to the WB executive board this week urging them to stop the loan until the country passes a law that guarantees the rights of pregnant girls to attend regular secondary schools and end mandatory pregnancy tests. Kigoma Urban MP and ACT-Wazalendo party leader Zitto Kabwe separately wrote to the bank also asking that the loan be stopped over human rights and repression of democracy is tackled in Tanzania.

The government has dismissed the claims and fears raised by the activists, with foreign affairs minister Prof Palamagamba Kabudi on Monday saying the government was committed to providing education opportunities to all its citizens, including the disadvantaged girls. He was speaking from the State House during the swearing in of new envoys at a function where President John Magufuli also alluded to the campaigns by the activists to try to block the WB.

President Magufuli told the new envoys to ignore some of such campaigns, saying he had held talks with the WB Vice President whom he said had understood the government's plans.

Until Monday, a project information document of the World Bank-a copy of which was seen by The Citizen, indicated that while the government had not committed itself to the lifting of the ban on teenage mothers going back to state schools after giving birth, it had reached an agreement with the Bretton Woods institution on creating a different pathway to help such young mothers to continue with accessing education.

It was on the basis of the agreement that the government was confident the loan would be granted.