By Toby McIntosh
Tanzanian President John Magufuli scored a public relations coup last week after a meeting with the World Bank’s top official in Africa.
The Tanzanian government celebrated in a press release that things were back on track for a $300 million education loan from the Bank.
This wasn’t quite right, but the facts remain murky. The Bank, which held up the loan because of a government policy to expel pregnant girls, says discussions are continuing, though it did not provide details or refute the government’s positive spin.
What the Bank wants to achieve and what has resulted remains unclear on other several fronts, too, including about over a new provision in a statistics law that criminalizes the rebuttal of official government statistics.
The Bank told EYE Oct. 1 that the law is “out of line with international standards.” The Bank said it has “shared” its concerns with the Tanzanian government and is “in discussions” with Tanzanian officials. (See Eye article.) Since then, the Bank has had no comment on the matter. (See Eye update Oct. 11.) The IMF has raised an eyebrow, asking for information. (See EYE story.)
Very little definite seems to have developed in the ensuing six weeks, judging by comments made after a Nov. 16 meeting between Magufuli and Hafez Ghanem, Vice President of the World Bank for Africa.
Ghanem, in a press conference Nov. 18, did not elaborate on the Bank’s concerns except to say the Bank needs “reliable and credible” statistics. He did not address how a reduction in public discourse might degrade their accuracy and impede free speech, as other critics have charged, but seemed to suggest the law could remain in place.
He said the government is “open to discussions on implementation and modalities of dealing with this” and that “our technical team and statisticians are working with the government on the details.”
Redesigning Education Loan Discussed
Ghanem was equally general when he addressed the education loan.
The Bank’s Board delayed consideration of the loan because of concerns about the government’s policy of expelling pregnant girls from school, eyeonglobaltransparency.net reported first on Oct. 29. (See EYE article.)
After the Nov. 16 meeting, the Tanzanian government issued a statement indicating that the Bank had reaffirmed its commitment to make the education loan. “I thank the World Bank for their continued support to Tanzania because there are some people who don’t wish us well,” the president was quoted as saying.
The government statement generated headlines such as “World Bank grants Tanzania $300 million to support education sector,” from the Nigerian News Agency and “World Bank Release of $300m Aid Proves Doomsayers Wrong, “ from IPPMedia.
The Bank did not counter this impression, although the situation appeared less clear when Ghanem held a press conference several days later.
Ghanem told reporters, “We have agreed to work on redesigning this project, together with the ministry of Education, to provide a pathway for girls who drop out of schools for any reason, to get back into the system.” He was also quoted as saying “we cannot accept that some girls be denied education. If we accept that, we won’t be doing development.”
Leonard Akwilapo, Tanzania’s Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education, told Reuters that he could not comment until he received an official statement. “However, he said Tanzania’s policy was to ensure all school dropouts, including pregnant school girls, continued their education through different options such as the adult education system,” according to Reuters.
The Bank has issued no statement on what it would accept, such as whether the expulsion policy could continue under certain conditions or how the Bank loan would be redesigned.
A Bank source told Eye, however, that this program will only move forward for Board consideration if there are concrete measures that ensure equal access to education for all Tanzanian children, girls and boys — in particular pregnant girls.
The Bank will only support policies that encourage girls’ education and make it possible for young women to stay in school until they reach their full potential, the source said, indicating that the proposed $300 million investment will need first to be restructured to include a strong component to ensure that pregnant girls can continue their education.
The Bank does not yet have a date for this project to be considered by the Board.
Bank Lifts Travel Ban
Asked about the World Bank’s stance on the issue of human rights and discrimination against the gay community in Tanzania, Ghanem said Tanzania had committed to non-discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender and sex orientation, according to an article by Africa News.
The Bank issued a statement to this effect on Nov. 20, also stating: “Given the assurances by the Tanzanian authorities, and following an internal security assessment, the World Bank’s management, in consultation with its staff in the country, and other development partners, has decided to lift the suspension on missions to Tanzania, while at the same time carefully monitoring the situation to assess the prevailing circumstances, and take the appropriate actions.” The Bank Nov. 7 suspended all visiting missions to Tanzania because of “threatening harassment and discrimination against the LGBT community.”
Denmark has announced the withholding of $9.86 million aid to Tanzania over its human rights record, and the European Union — which recalled its ambassador — stated it was reviewing its policies with Dar es Salaam, according to an article in The East African. For an overview, see article by Pernille Baerendtsen in Global Voices.
