John Mwebe — Have you ever thought about how you would react if a large-scale development project ever came to your community? In my work supporting community-led development in Africa, a fundamental necessity for any community is basic information about the project itself. What is the project? Where will it be? …

By John Mwebe — “The World Bank should consult us directly because what the government says may not truly be what we had expressed” says a community member from Lilongwe District, Malawi. …

By Elias Jika — My experience working with local communities in Malawi has taught me that the average citizen knows that they have human rights, but they don’t always know how those rights can be exercised. Months after graduating from the University of Malawi with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Technology…

By Elias Jika and Preksha Kumar — “I can speak for my people when I say that we are glad the financiers have chosen not to finance the project” said one local chief. Another person added, “There have been problems and disturbances in our lives ever since this project was introduced.” In every village I visited, the…

Jocelyn Medallo — For over two years, I listened to and documented the experiences of families in Cambodia who had been, or were soon to be, displaced by a 650km railway rehabilitation project funded by the Asian Development Bank. I was invited into demolished or considerably destroyed homes and met families living in…

Elias Jika — I first learned of the Salima Solar Project in September 2018, when local media reported that the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), the state-owned power utility company, had signed MOUs with two private companies. …

By Elias Jika — Notes from the Civil Society-Led Session at the 2020 AfDB Civil Society Forum The International Accountability Project in partnership with the Arab Watch Coalition (AWC) and Lumiere Synergie pour le Developpement (LSD) held a CSO-led session at the virtual 2020 AfDB Civil Society Forum on 27 November 2020, titled Tracking…

By Ishita Petkar FMO — the Dutch development bank — is relying on an access to information system with serious flaws. In 2020, International Accountability Project (IAP) and FUNDEPS analyzed the disclosure practices of FMO, the Dutch development bank. We found serious shortcomings in FMO’s current access to information system…

by Ryan Schlief, Executive Director — For 5 years, IAP has asked, What if development were designed and lived by the same people? As a 19-year old activist, I remember a mentor asking me what felt, at the time, like an equally provocative question. After participating in repeated protests against a racist and anti-immigrant radio program…

Press Release: Over 50 Human Rights and Environmental Rights Groups Express Concerns over Opaque and Closed Access to Information Policy Implementation Review Process at the African Development Bank June 1, 2021 — In a letter addressed to the African Development Bank, 50+ human rights and environmental rights groups are sounding the alarm over the categorical lack of transparency and meaningful stakeholder engagement on the part of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in the implementation review of its Disclosure…

By Elias Jika and Jocelyn Medallo Founded in 1964, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) provides financing to African governments and private companies investing in the bank’s regional member countries. …

By Elias Jika “Before the coming in of the project plans, floods eroded the bridge in our village. The government brought equipment to reconstruct the bridge, but the dam project has stopped the bridge’s reconstruction.” …