The World Bank is presently aiming to ensure gay and transgender Ugandans are not discriminated against in its programs before beginning new funding, which was stopped in August due to an anti-LGBTQ law, according to a bank executive said.
The bank’s head for eastern and Southern Africa, Victorai Kwakwa had said that the World Bank scheme documents will make it clear that LGBTQ Ugandans should not face discrimination and that the staff will not be nabbed for including them.
Rights groups have stated that the Anti-Homosexuality Act, –AHA, which was decreed on May and gave the death penalty for certain same-sex acts, had let loose, a wave of abuse against LGBTQ people, especially by private individuals.
Kwakwa had however, not given a timeline for assessing the measures’ efficacy nor made the decision to resume new funding for Uganda.
When the World Bank halted plans for new funding, Ugandan officials accused the development finance institution of insincerity, commenting that it was lending to countries in the Middle East and Asia that had the same or harsher laws targeting LGBTQ people.
The government would need to review its budget to reflect the suspension’s possible financial impact, according to a junior finance minister report at the time.
The World Bank’s portfolio of projects in the East African country had been at $5.2 billion at the end of 2022. These have yet to be affected by the decision to postpone new financing.
