World Bank's Banga apologizes to kids sexually abused at Bridge schools

World Bank President Ajay Banga has apologized for the “trauma” experienced by children sexually abused at schools in Kenya supported by the bank's private-sector arm, but has stopped short of offering them financial compensation. In an email sent to all staff on Thursday, titled “Learning from Mistakes,” Banga admitted failings at the bank’s International Finance Corporation over its handling of the $13.5 million investment into Bridge International Academies, a for-profit chain of schools, and promised an independent investigation by an outside party. Reports of sexual abuse at the schools emerged in 2020, triggering an investigation by the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman, or CAO, the bank’s internal watchdog. The investigation, submitted to the bank’s board last October, accused IFC of multiple failings, including that staff turned a blind eye to reports of abuse and then later interfered with the CAO investigation. Banga, who took the helm at the bank last June, has been under pressure to respond amid a steady drumbeat of reporting on the scandal by news outlets including Devex. His statement comes the day after IFC’s own plan for addressing the harms was approved by the bank’s board after months of delay and division. Like Banga’s email, IFC’s “management action plan” makes no mention of compensation for the affected children. “Ten years ago, the World Bank Group invested in Bridge International Academies with the ambition of helping children in Kenya gain access to quality education and the opportunities that come as a result. Early on we received reports of child sexual abuse, but protocols were not followed and children were hurt. Put simply, mistakes were made,” Banga wrote in the email, which was seen by Devex. “On behalf of the World Bank Group, I am sorry for the trauma these children experienced, committed to supporting the survivors, and determined to ensure we do better going forward,” he added. Bridge — whose parent company is NewGlobe — operates low-fee schools in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and India. It is the world’s largest for-profit primary school chain, with around 750,000 students by 2022, according to IFC’s website. Its other financial backers include Bill Gates, Omidyar Network, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Banga’s change in tone This is the first time the bank has publicly acknowledged responsibility in the case. CAO’s investigation into IFC’s investment in Bridge was triggered in 2020, when community members in Nairobi told CAO staff about prior cases of alleged abuse by two Bridge teachers. The original number of alleged victims was 15 but quickly rose to more than 20 during the investigation. In his email, Banga also committed to appointing an “outside investigator” to look into allegations that IFC and Bridge tried to delay and interfere with CAO’s investigation, disclosed last year by The Intercept. This included an agreement between IFC and Bridge to impose a sweeping nondisclosure agreement on CAO’s findings. “Additionally, in order to make certain the CAO investigation is received with the credibility it deserves, we will ask an outside investigator to ensure that this was conducted in a manner that was free from interference,” Banga wrote. You can't issue an institutional apology to kids who were raped by their teachers at schools you were supporting … and not provide meaningful redress to the kids.” --— David Pred, executive director, Inclusive Development International This marks a change in tone from the bank president, who previously denied the possibility of a cover-up during a question and answer session following an event at the Center for Global Development in early February. However, Banga’s latest intervention is bittersweet for civil society groups, who remain frustrated that the anti-poverty lender is refusing to offer financial compensation to students who were abused — something that the CAO report specifically recommended and that advocates have been calling for. Banga’s email was sent the day after IFC’s controversial “management action plan” — its blueprint for responding to CAO’s findings — was finally approved, after months of delay. The MAP, along with the CAO report, were both published on Thursday. A compromise plan The bank’s decision comes after months of wrangling over IFC’s response, how much responsibility the institution should accept, and whether to pay damages to the children who were sexually abused. The board was meant to approve the IFC plan in January. But the meeting was postponed because shareholder countries could not agree, with some fearing that direct compensation to abuse survivors would create a dangerous precedent of cash for complaints, insiders told Devex. The United States, which is the biggest shareholder at the bank, has been especially keen to see financial remedy on the table. On Wednesday, U.S. lawmaker Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California and ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging the U.S. to reject the IFC’s action plan until it included compensation for survivors and an investigation into IFC’s handling of the investment, including allegations of a cover-up. The plan published on Thursday represents something of a compromise, with IFC pledging to fund a remediation program — including education, community prevention measures, and rehabilitation — for survivors of child sexual abuse in counties where Bridge operates in Kenya. The lender promises to consult with survivors and stakeholders in designing and implementing its remediation program. And though the action plan makes no reference to direct compensation for Bridge sexual abuse survivors, it does offer to pay for transportation or other costs linked to accessing services on a “case by case basis.” Justifying its refusal to compensate individuals, IFC claims that it is “global good practice” to offer a broader, open remediation program as opposed to identifying and assisting specific survivors. Civil society groups dispute this, pointing to multiple examples of remediation programs offering cash to survivors of sexual abuse. IFC also said it will hire additional gender-based violence experts, introduce new staff training and reporting protocols, and release a zero-tolerance statement to staff on inaction or reprisals related to gender-based violence and child protection issues. ‘Meaningful redress’ Civil society groups are still calling on IFC to compensate the survivors. “IFC’s action plan fails to do the one thing that is required of it: provide remedy to the Bridge survivors,” David Pred, executive director of the advocacy group Inclusive Development International, said in a statement Thursday. Pred was also skeptical about Banga’s email show of contrition, which he described as coming “far too late” and too “vague” in its promises of remediation. “Having apologized to the Bridge survivors on behalf of the Bank, Banga now has to ensure that they are compensated for what they went through. You can't issue an institutional apology to kids who were raped by their teachers at schools you were supporting — and admit that your staff turned a blind eye to it — and not provide meaningful redress to the kids,” Pred told Devex. “Any serious commitment to remedy must be designed in consultation with survivors,” Teresa Mutua, communities co-director at Accountability Counsel, which has been working with the Kenyan complainants, said in the same statement. “A number of the girls have expressed clearly and plainly what remedy looks like to them. The fact that IFC has ignored them so far is a tragedy,” Mutua added. Pred and others live in hope that IFC may still change its mind and offer compensation. IFC is due to return to the board within six months “to provide an update on progress and the final design of the remediation program based on consultation with stakeholders and, if needed, make adjustments,” according to the bank’s statement released Thursday. The U.S. Treasury is also still pushing the issue, saying in a statement published Thursday: “We believe IFC should keep all remedy options on the table while the consultations proceed.” The U.S. also reiterated its support for Banga’s call for an independent, external investigation into the CAO case. “Finally, we are deeply troubled by the broader accountability issues raised by this case. … To perform its role effectively, the CAO must be independent, and its investigations must be conducted free of interference and retaliation.” A ‘defining moment’ for IFC Unlike Banga, IFC’s managing director, Makhtar Diop, has yet to offer an apology or take responsibility for IFC’s failings. "Child sexual abuse is unacceptable in any project financed by the IFC," he said in a press release. “Drawing lessons from this case, we are committed to improving our systems and ensuring a zero-tolerance culture for gender-based violence and child sexual abuse,” Diop added. “We are recruiting additional GBV experts and are rolling out new training for IFC staff which includes clear reporting and escalation protocols. In Kenya, we will provide funding to support established remediation and prevention programs led by organizations with a solid track record of addressing child sexual abuse and gender-based violence.” IFC will now implement the MAP with CAO monitoring. Janine Ferretti, CAO’s director-general, called it a “defining moment” for IFC to improve its child protection record and said the watchdog would be watching closely to make sure IFC’s remediation program involved survivors of abuse. “Its effective implementation will need to have Bridge students who experienced sexual abuse, and their families, at the center of the process. These are children who went to school to improve their lives and access the best education their families could afford. Sadly, for some of them, their lives were interrupted,” Ferretti wrote in a statement Thursday. Update, March 18, 2024: This article has been updated to clarify Rep. Maxine Waters’ title in the House Financial Services Committee.