Tanzania denies rights abuse after World Bank suspends funds

The Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth Project (REGROW) was launched to improve the management of natural resources and tourism assets in southern Tanzania, according to the World Bank.

At least $100 million has been disbursed for the project, which was launched in 2017.

But the Oakland Institute, a California-based think tank, raised allegations in September of forced evictions and rights abuses, including killing and sexual assaults of communities living near Ruaha National Park, which the government is planning to expand as part of the scheme.

"Park rangers, funded through REGROW, are implicated in murders of several villagers and numerous incidents of violence since the project began in 2017. Field research collected heart-wrenching testimonies from those who have faced sexual violence, brutal assaults, and inhumane treatment by rangers," it had said.

"Government agencies are also seizing and auctioning cattle in large numbers," the Oakland Institute added.

"Our preliminary investigations have revealed that the allegations are not true. We are now waiting for our colleagues at the World Bank to supply their proof on the subject," government spokesman Mobhare Matinyi told AFP, calling the allegations "unfounded".

Tanzania "does not violate human rights in any development project. We are seriously concerned about people's rights and dignity," he added.

After receiving information suggesting "breaches of our policies" on the project, the World Bank on Tuesday said it withdrew funding "with immediate "effect".

According to the Oakland Institute, the Tanzanian government planned to forcibly displace more than 20,000 people to expand the park.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who took power in 2021, broke away from the authoritarian policies of her predecessor John Magufuli, with intentions to relax restrictions on freedom and open up foreign economic investments.

But these decisions were dampened by the arrest in July 2021 of several political opponents.

The East African country is renowned for its spectacular wildlife parks such as the Serengeti, as well as being home to Africa's tallest mountain Kilimanjaro and Indian Ocean islands including Zanzibar.

The tourism sector generated $3.37 billion in revenue in 2023 as international arrivals rebounded by 24 per cent to 1.8 million, according to official figures.