World Bank refuses financing to poverty-stricken Uganda following its approval of anti-LGBTQ law

Andrea Shalal
Reuters
Wed, 09 Aug 2023 09:31 UTC

© REUTERS/Johannes P. Christo/File Photo

A participant stands near a logo of World Bank at the International Monetary Fund - World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, October 12, 2018.

The World Bank said on Tuesday it would halt new lending to the Ugandan government after concluding that its anti-LGBTQ law, which has been condemned by many countries and the United Nations, contradicts the bank's values.

In response, the East African country dismissed the move as unjust and hypocritical.

A World Bank team traveled to Uganda immediately after the law was enacted in May and determined that additional measures were needed to ensure projects were being implemented in line with the bank's environmental and social standards.

"No new public financing to Uganda will be presented to our Board of Executive Directors until the efficacy of the additional measures has been tested," the bank said in a statement, adding that such measures were now under discussion with Ugandan authorities.

"Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act fundamentally contradicts the World Bank Group's values. We believe our vision to eradicate poverty on a livable planet can only succeed if it includes everyone irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality," the bank said.

Comment: In the past, US-run IMF and World Bank could feign independence whilst also forcing countries to privatise public utilities, that would obviously benefit corporations in the West. However this guise of merely caring about 'eradicating poverty' is exposed as untrue with this coercion to adopt the ideological agenda of the establishment which will have little to no impact on the livelihoods of those in the country.

It's also likely that Uganda's favourable relations with Russia may have had some impact on the World Banks outlook on the country.

However, we saw the same tactics in the EU recently, whereby countries in dire need of lockdown recovery were also threatened that the funds would be withheld if they did not enforce the establishment's warped gender ideology laws: EU declares itself 'LGBTIQ freedom zone' in response to towns in Poland & Hungary declaring themselves 'LGBTIQ propaganda free-zones'

See also:

• More confessions of an economic hitman: This time they're coming for your democracy
• Uganda's President praises Russia's help in decolonization amidst Lavrov's tour of Africa

Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Confessions of an Economic Hitman: Interview with John Perkins