Facing pressure from rights groups, World Bank suspends funding for Tanzania tourism project

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA
Associated Press

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A U.S.-based rights group says the World Bank has suspended funding for a tourism project in Tanzania that allegedly caused the suffering of tens of thousands of villagers. The Oakland Institute says the World Bank’s decision to suspend the $150 million project, which aims to improve the management of natural resources and tourism assets in a remote part of southern Tanzanian, was “long overdue.” It says the bank’s delay in taking action “resulted in serious harms for the local communities.” It has accused the World Bank of failing to hold Tanzanian authorities accountable for extrajudicial killings and sexual assaults relating to the expansion of a national park. At least $100 million has already been disbursed for the project, which started in 2017.