World Bank to spend $112m to fix flaws in wound-up Tanzania project

The funding will be disbursed through two separate interventions, starting with $2.8 million to support communities living in and around the Ruaha National Park who were adversely affected by the flaws identified in a recently concluded investigation into the project's implementation.

A second, bigger disbursement of up to $110 million, to be spent on another project covering other parts of the country, is also in the pipeline but awaiting approval by the bank's board.

Regrow was sponsored by the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank affiliate, with the aim of developing Tanzania's southern tourism circuit.

Launched in 2017, the project became the subject of an extended investigation after allegations of human rights violations against surrounding communities cropped up during its last two years of operation.

The probe was conducted by an independent inspection panel mandated by the World Bank board to assess the extent of the bank’s compliance with its own operational policies and procedures in projects that it finances.

According to the panel's findings, non-compliance with the bank’s policies on involuntary resettlement in particular was a major weakness in the project and  "contributed to the harm experienced by the affected communities."

"In conducting its due diligence, the Bank's management did not recognise that, based on Tanzania’s game park management legislation, people residing in and/or accessing parks and other protected areas without authorisation could face involuntary physical and economic resettlement," the panel reported. 

It also noted that pre-project risk assessments did not sufficiently recognise how the involvement of the Tanzania National Park Authority (Tanapa), a state-owned agency with a law enforcement mandate, “would invariably have implications for the livelihoods and the well-being of communities residing within park boundaries and accessing park resources for the purpose of sustaining livelihoods.”  

Tanapa was named as a major culprit in the original claims of violence and intimidation tactics being deployed by government park rangers to forcefully evict native communities from the project area, primarily the famed Ruaha National Park, using methods such as seizing and confiscating their cattle.

A formal complaint was filed by two local villagers to the World Bank in 2023, triggering the investigation. The identities of the two individuals have remained hidden throughout for “fear of retribution,” according to official World Bank documentation on the case, although they are understood to have been backed by the Oakland Institute, a US-based lobby.

The Inspection Panel report was more critical of the Bank's handling of the project than of any wrongs that Tanzanian authorities may have committed.

Nevertheless, the new action plan agreed with Tanzania in response to the Panel's findings also outlines a number of new interventions designed to address this aspect of the matter.

Edith Jibunoh, the Bank's Washington DC-based spokesperson for Eastern and Southern Africa told The EastAfrican in a virtual interview on Tuesday that a workshop will be convened next month to brief Tanzanian officials on "relevant good international practice in protected area management."

"The briefing will cover topics such as effective and responsible enforcement of park restrictions, conflict avoidance, community engagement, and benefit sharing," she explained.

Further interventions will include establishing and maintaining an effective grievance redress system and a fully operational hotline to raise concerns directly to the World Bank in Tanzania.

World Bank staff in Tanzania have also been provided with an interim guidance note on how to "responsibly" handle human rights issues, security, conflicts and other risks related to projects involving protected areas going forward.

"Based on this interim guidance note, the Bank will prepare a more comprehensive Good Practice Note on the same topic, not just for projects it sponsors in Tanzania but all countries, by December 2025," Ms Jibunoh said.

She also explained that the initial $2.8 million project to fix the harms caused by flaws in Regrow's implementation will be sponsored by a "trust fund" and the monies handled by "a third party in the form of a reputable NGO to be identified."

"The NGO is to be confirmed by the end of this month, as we are aiming for the project to begin by June. The Rufiji Basin Water Board will also be involved in the project, representing the government," she said.

On the new Scaling-up Locally Led Climate Action Program (Scale) operation that is expected to cost at least $110 million, Ms Jibunoh said it would be more "national in scope" and focus on improving the livelihoods of vulnerable communities in areas such as Usangu Catchment, source of the Great Ruaha River, and Mbarali district in Mbeya region.

"The project plan is still being worked out and will be submitted to the Board by June. The details will be made public once it gets Board approval. We are being more careful this time because we don't want to repeat the same mistakes as in the Regrow project," she said.