Sullivan’ chopper crashed in Arusha

A military helicopter was crashed near Materesi village, Kisongo area in the suburbs of Arusha town, killing all crew and passengers on board. Arusha Regional Police Commander Mr Basilio Matei told the ‘Daily News’ that the ill-fated helicopter was among those that were taking aerial patrol during the Sullivan Summit that ended in Arusha,Tanzania. He added that the cause of the crash were not established the following day, and that police and military officials were investigating on the cause of the mishap. News from the scene of accident said that the plane – Registration Number JWTZ 95007 – was headed for Dar es Salaam via Dodoma where it was expected to drop some of the passengers. Speaking to police officers who visited the scene of the accident, Maj. Nkambi of the Tanzania People's Defence Forces (TPDF) identified the dead as Col. Waketi, Maj. Sinda, Lt. Kihungu and Private Mahumba. He added that a woman and her child, both of whom also died, were not identified immediately. The Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Davis Mwamunyange, who was in Arusha on official duty visited the scene of accident an hour after the incident, where he expressed his condolences to the bereaved families. Gen. Mwamunyange also thanked the Kisongo area residents, who tried their best to save the accident victims but could not do so under the circumstances. He said burial arrangements would be made once necessary arrangements were made.

Tanzania: Clear Up Confusion On EPA Now

Last Friday, Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Mustafa Mkulo told Parliament that the Sh133 billion looted from the External Payment Arrears account wasn't the Government's money.
In a surprise statement during the winding down of the Budget, Mr Mkulo said the sum that was illegally paid through the account to individuals and suspect companies belonged to private businessmen and not the people of Tanzania.

While Mr Mkulo says the looted billions belonged to neither the Government nor the Central Bank of Tanzania, President Kikwete, in a statement issued on January 9, noted that he was 'gravely shocked by the looting of public funds within the BoT'.

It is for this reason the head of state formed a special taskforce to investigate how the EPA billions was looted as well as recovering the stolen monies. He also directed that thereafter all those suspected should be prosecuted before a court of law.

It is therefore appalling to hear from Mr Mkulo that the looted billions don't belong to the Government. It is not our intention to translate further what the minister meant, but we would like him to be clear on this issue.
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It is not enough to say the sum belongs to businesspeople. Who are they? Why would the Government spend a lot of energy to recover funds belonging to some businesspeople?
Wasn't this account formed under the debt buy-back scheme introduced by the Government in collaboration with the World Bank in 1994?
It will be interesting to know to whom the said funds do in fact belong.

Cameroon/Tanzania: Eto'o Clinches Last Minute Victory for Lions

Indomitable Lions hitman, Samuel Eto'o Fils' late goal against the Taifa Stars of Tanzania on Saturday, June 21, was what it took to clinch victory for the Indomitable Lions.
When the two sides clashed at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium. The Lions had been held to a virgin draw during the away leg in Dar-es-Salaam a week earlier and it didn't look like they were going to have things any easy this time round.

For one thing, even though they practically dominated play throughout the first half of the encounter, the Taifa Stars stubbornly frustrated all efforts by the striking duo of Eto'o and Achilles Webo from doing any damage. Even Eto'o's 67th minute opener was hurriedly closed by the Stars some 10 minutes later. Eto'o only squeezed in the winner for Cameroon in stoppage time.
The encounter marked a day four action of the on going joint 2010 World and African Cup of Nations qualifiers.Eto'o now joins Frederick Kanoute of Mali as second-highest goal scorers in the African qualifiers with four goals, one behind leader, Moumouni Dagano of Burkina Faso with five.
During the first segment of the game, the Taifa Stars adopted a defensive play style, which paid off as their watertight defence waded off all incursions from the Lions attack force manned by Eto'o and Achilles Webo.

In spite of several scoring opportunities created by Eto'o and Geremi Njitap, Webo failed to score and give Cameroon the lead in the first segment of the game.Eto'o opener came, courtesy of a well executed corner kick by Njitap. The Tanzanians equalised 11 minutes after, thereby increasing the pressure on the Lions that feared a draw at home.
Eto'o's 90th minute goal gave the Lions the lead not only in the game but also in their Group.
Tanzanian coach, Brazilian born Marcio Maximo, blamed his team's defeat on the referee.
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The Lions now top Group I with 10 points. Meantime, the players would go back to their clubs and only return in August for the next round.
Besides the new improved status of the Amadou Ahidjo Stadium, the Lions official sponsor, Orange Cameroun, added colour and fanfare to the game.The joint qualifying campaign will decide which five teams will join the host country, South Africa, at the 2010 World Cup tournament.

According to FIFA rules the qualification process will also decide the 15 teams that will join host Angola to take part at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.The following results were recorded in Saturday qualifying matches: Zambia 1- 0 Swaziland, South Africa 0-0 Sierra Leone, Nigeria 2-0 Equatorial Guinea, Morocco 2-0 Rwanda, Burkina Faso 4-1 Seychelles, Tunisia 2-1 Burundi and Senegal 3-1 Liberia.

FLAMES OF XENOPHOBIA

Policemen try to save a man who was set alight by a mob during clashes believed to be linked to recent anti-foreigner violence in Reiger Park informal settlement east of Johannesburg on May 18. The man died later in hospital. Hundreds of foreigners took refuge in police stations and churches as week-old violence against them spread across townships.
Reuters

MEMORIAL WEEKEND IN HOUSTON TEXAS (U.S.A)

Your all invited for the big upcoming event,May 22nd-26th

To view a larger picture, click on the image and a new screen will pop up with an enlarged view (click kwenye picha)

MKAPA CAN BE TAKEN TO COURT,SAY LAWYERS

2008-04-30, 09:25:03
By Gadiosa Lamtey
Prominent scholars have said immediate former president Benjamin Mkapa could be taken to court if there is enough evidence linking him to abuses of office. The scholars, among them reputable lawyers, said in interviews yesterday that the abuses would include fishy transactions in the public service entered into during his ten-year administration. The retired third-phase president is one of the most high-profile targets of rapidly circulating reports relating to grand corruption allegations. One is that he and Daniel Yona, once Energy and Minerals minister under him, bought the 4bn/- state-run Kiwira coal mine at a paltry 700m/- but ultimately paid a mere 70m/- for it. Tanzania`s constitution stipulates that the country`s sitting president enjoys immunity from criminal and civil proceedings in respect of anything done or not done in his or her personal capacity as an ordinary citizen. The law also prohibits people from instituting criminal or civil proceedings for anything done or not done in his or her capacity as president even after he or she is no longer in power. But some Dar es Salaam-based lawyers contacted for comment on the issue yesterday said, the provisions of the constitution notwithstanding, the government is still obliged to take legal action against any former president using his or her office for personal gain. The legal experts interviewed observed that, in accordance with the Presidential Affairs Act, Mkapa`s immunity may be waived if he would be proven to have deliberately abused his office. Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) Executive Director Hellen Kijo-Bisimba said the Act can only protect a president executing his or her official duties at the State House ``but the law provides for the president to be taken to task when it is proved that he or she used the public office to do private business``. Kijo-Bisimba expressed hope that the ongoing investigations into the allegations relating to the coal mine?s controversial purchase would come up with the best decision on how to deal with the former president. She pointed out that the National Assembly has the legal mandate to waive president`s immunity when necessary and allow the law to take its course. ``What happened to former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba could happen in Tanzania as well. Just as the Zambian legislature waived Chiluba`s presidential immunity and allowed the government to file a case against him, there could be a similar development here.`` Chiluba is facing a pending criminal case for alleged involvement in the gross misappropriation of public funds when he was president of Zambia. Human rights activist and legal counsel Tundu Lissu observed that the International Criminal Court had categorically stated that the law should not be used to protect presidents or anybody violating human rights or otherwise breaking the law. He recommended that Tanzania`s constitution similarly stipulate that even the president could face legal action once found use his or her (public) office to further personal interests. ``Mkapa has no excuse on this; the government should take him to court and make him respond to the allegations levelled against him,`` he said. Another legal expert, Twaha Tasilima, said: ``It is not always and at all costs that a sitting or former president can be protected by the law. There are situations where the immunity can be revoked if it is believed that he or she misused his or her presidential powers.`` He expressed full support for the decision by the Jakaya Kikwete government to investigate the allegations against the former president ``so that the facts can be known and appropriate legal and other measures can be taken. ``It is a laudable development and the people are eagerly waiting for the outcome of the investigations. Should it mean finally taking the former president to court, then that will serve as a lesson to other prominent public figures to act likewise,`` Lissu pointed out. Prof Mwesiga Baregu, a long-serving don with the University of Dar es Salaam, noted that it was ``prime time for President Kikwete to allow the law to take its course unimpeded by personal interests``. He said the country`s constitution does not allow anyone to break the law and get away with it and agreed with those insisting that the former president should be taken to court to answer the allegations levelled against him. Dr Edmund Sengondo Mvungi, Dean of the university`s Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, stated that the law actually provided for the impeachment of a retired president. ``The Constitution protects the President when he or she executes his or her official duties at the State House but the law is clear that he or she should be taken to task for conducting private business in contravention of the laws of the land,`` he explained. Dr Mvungi elaborated that the Constitution offered protection to the president only in the course of performing legitimate public duties he is entrusted by the citizenry to perform, ``the duties including inspecting guards of honour but not illegal undertakings``. ``I would strongly recommend that President Jakaya Kikwete decide fast on the next step to take in view of prevailing murky circumstances,`` he said. Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda told the National Assembly late last week that the government had begun working on allegations of abuse of office and other charges levelled against some third-phase government leaders. He said the government was still following up and evaluating the allegations so as to know what exactly happened and that any relevant information would be made public after completion of the investigations. Despite the swelling wave of the allegations and persistent efforts by the media to have him respond to them, the former president has remained unshakably tight-lipped.
SOURCE: Guardian

TANZANIA: LANDMARK DECISION

The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
25 April 2008
Posted to the web 25 April 2008
The Citizen TeamDar es Salaam
MPs turned the heat on the Government in Parliament yesterday, resolving that TICTS contract extension be scrapped and the railway concession deal reviewed as part of wide-ranging measures to curb the looting of public resources.
A highly charged House condemned current and past high-level corruption, during debate on four private motions.
It was another historic day as Speaker Samuel Sitta allowed the members to dissect the deals sealed during the Benjamin Mkapa administration and the current government, and which have cost the country billions of shillings.
Kwela MP Chrissant Mzindakaya set the ball rolling by moving his private member's motion, detailing how the lucrative foreign-dominated hunting sector was not benefiting Tanzanians. He said that from professional and tourist hunting alone, the Government losses about Sh76.8 billion ($60 million) in low fees paid by the operators and corruption by wildlife officials.
In scenes reminiscent of the February session during which a report tabled by the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Richmond Company scandal led to the resignation of Mr Edward Lowassa as Prime Minister alongside Cabinet minister Nizar Karamagi and Ibrahim Msabaha, the MPs looked determined to get to the bottom of the mega scandals.
They fiercely debated the private members' motions on the hunting industry, and Tanzania Railways Limited (TRL) in the morning session, and concluded in the evening with the Tanzania International Containers Terminal (TICTS) and the controversial sale of government houses. The MPs said the public servants who were allocated the houses but have not completed paying for them should clear the balances or have them repossessed. Some 7,921 houses were sold in 2002 for Sh59.1 billion, but only 29.1 billion has been paid while more than half (Sh30.4 billion) has not been paid. Moving the motion on the sale of the houses, CCM lawmaker Aloyce Kimario said it was a pity that the decision had been made without first building others.
"It was as if the third phase government thought it was going to be the last government in this country. Those houses were a national resource and the property of all Tanzanians not just the few civil servants," he said. Apparently alarmed by the mega scandals-Richmond, EPA, Twin Towers, Meremeta Gold, which together have cost the taxpayers' about Sh1.25 trillion ($1billion), the angry MPs told all the corrupt leaders and other looters to repent. They also urged the Government to immediately suspend the controversial TICTS contract, which gave the latter an extension to 2015 instead of the original expiry period scheduled in 2010.
Parliament was stunned to hear that the Indian firm, RITES, which was awarded a tender to manage Tanzania Railways Corporation, borrowed $77 million to finance the project but only 10per cent of the money had been invested in the project. In the evening sitting, the MPs debated TICTS, which was dubiously given an extension to run the container section at Dar es Salaam Port, contrary to the National Procurement Act of 2004. But drama unfolded in the House, when one of the TICTS shareholders, former minister Karamagi rose to defend the company, arguing that the extension was approved by the Cabinet in June 2005.
Mr Karamagi, who resigned this year after being implicated in Richmond scandal, was told by Speaker Sitta to declare his interest first, as required by the House's standing orders. "I am the chairman of TICTS and also the owner of one of the companies that partnered with an international firm to run this business," Mr Karamagi told the attentive House in responding to Speaker's order.
And Speaker Sitta responded: "You may now continue, Honourable Karamagi." Mr Karamagi said his company won the tender, denying any wrongdoing, but his efforts came to nought as the majority of MPs from his own party, CCM, said the deal was illegal and should be nullified. Ms Anna Abdullah of CCM demanded to know whether Mr Karamagi had any evidence to prove before Parliament that the Cabinet approved "the dubious extension".
Following the situation, Mr Karamagi was ordered to present his evidence today before 12pm, whereby failure to that he would taken to task for issuing false statements' in the parliament.

TANZANIA:MKAPA UNDER FIRE IN BUNGE

The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
23 April 2008Posted to the web 23 April 2008
Damas Kanyabwoya
Dodoma Graft allegations against former President Benjamin Mkapa yesterday surfaced in Parliament for the first time, with some legislators from the ruling party accusing him of sabotaging Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco).
MPs, who were debating the 2007 Electricity Bill, said the current high operational costs resulting mainly from capacity charges was contributed by the dubious contract entered between Tanesco and Tan Power Resources Co. Ltd.
Tan Power Resources is linked with former head of state and Mr Daniel Yona, who was the minister for Energy and Minerals during the Third Phase government.
Debating the Bill, Mr Aloyce Kimario (Vunjo-CCM), alleged that Mr Mkapa sabotaged Tanesco.
Mr Kimario said the heavy burden of capacity charges on Tanesco is partly due to the Sh146 million daily that the power company pays Tan Power Resources.
He said in 2005, Mr Mkapa and Mr Yona bought the Sh4 billion Kiwira coal mine through their Tan Power Resources Company at Sh700 million, but they eventually paid only Sh70 million.
The MP said they bought Kiwira under dubious circumstances and without floating a tender.
In 2006 the company entered into another dubious contract of supplying power to Tanesco, while receiving a Sh146 million in capacity charges per day.
The MP mentioned other independent power producing (IPP) companies as Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL) that receives Sh114 million daily as capacity charge. Others are Songas "We need to say now that enough is enough! We cannot continue like this. And all those implicated in causing losses to this country must be dealt with according to the law," he said.
He urged Energy and Minerals minister William Ngeleja to ensure all those people owning the companies that milk government coffers in capacity charges daily are not allowed to invest in the electricity sector after doors are opened as per the new Electricity Act.
"All big hydroelectricity projects such as Stigler's Gorge, Ruhiji and Rumakali should be given to Tanesco. Private investors should be allowed to produce power by using their own sources," the MP intoned.
Mr Siraju Kaboyonga (Tabora Urban-CCM) also blamed the former president for his involvement in companies that have been milking Tanesco heavily, "leaving the state owned company basically on its knees."
The MP advised the government to divide Tanesco into three different companies so as to increase the sector's efficiency.
One company should be for generation, another for transmission and another for distribution.
"And after Tanesco is divided the new power generating company to be formed should sell shares to the public as it was done in Kenya 's KenGen," he said.
By no means, declared the MP, should the transmission infrastructure of electricity be left in private hands because 'they are the core of electricity power.'
Instead, he urged the government to improve the current transmission infrastructure because it has low capacity, blamed for losses of about 10 per cent of the power Tanesco transmits.
MPs also raised security concerns with regard to proposed reforms in the power sector.
Mrs Anne Kilango-Malecela (Same East-CCM) said private investors should not be allowed to have a monopoly in the electricity sector because it will be easier to sabotage the country.
She wants new investments made to Tanesco to make it competent and withstand competition.
Mr Mkapa's name has surfaced in various scandals committed during his third phase regime, with some MPs and opposition camp urging for the removal of his immunity to allow investigations against him.
However Mr Mkapa has so far declined to comment on various allegations leveled against him, maintaining that he has retired from politics and was not ready to say anything.
President Jakaya Kikwete is also on record suggesting he wasn't ready to lift immunity on retired presidents.
Mr Kikwete told editors last year at the State House that he would rather let former presidents retire in peace than subject any of them to investigations.
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Despite the credible achievements reached during his regime including improvement of tax collections, attraction of foreign direct investments and reduction of the country's external debt, it has now emerged that the third phase regime was marred by huge corruption scandals.
Notable controversial deals include the purchase of a civilian and military radar system from BAe Systems and a presidential jet.
Others include the Meremeta gold company contract, the External Payments Arrears account mismanagement and inflated costs of the construction of the Bank of Tanzania twin towers, the privatisation of parastatal firms, among others.

TANZANIA MINISTER QUITS AFTER BAE CONTRACT CLAIMS

By Russell Hotter
A senior minister in Tanzania's government has resigned after being allegedly linked to a controversial BAE Systems defence contract that is being investigated by Britain's Serious Fraud Office.
Andrew Chenge is understood to have stood down as the infrastructure minister on Sunday evening, following claims about him having a large sum of money in a bank account in Jersey.
The SFO is probing a 2002 contract under which BAE supplied Tanzania with a military radar system, a deal that was strongly criticised by aid agencies and politicians, including the then UK International Development Secretary Clare Short.
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Yesterday, lawyers for Mr Chenge said that he denied wrongdoing or having any involvement in deciding who got the contract. However, the Tanzanian media has reported extensively suggestions that the money could have been connected to the deal.
Last night it was still unclear why Mr Chenge, who was Tanzania's attorney general in 2002, had resigned.
The country's laws require ministers to disclose their wealth.
Mr Chenge's US-based lawyer, J Lewis Madorsky, said that his client did not deny having the offshore bank account, but added: "I've not had chance to speak to him [Mr Chenge] directly. But I know that he is shocked by the claims, but optimistic about the future. He had nothing to do with this contract."
Despite the SFO abandoning its high-profile investigation into BAE's Al Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia, the fraud office has continued to probe several other overseas deals.
Poverty-stricken Tanzania bought a £28m military air traffic control system from BAE, when many experts said a far cheaper civil system would have done. At the time, Ms Short said the deal "stank".
BAE said it was "fully co-operating" with the SFO inquiry but would not comment further.
The SFO declined to comment.

TANZANIA:DAR PURSUE CCM OFFICIAL,MP's ON LIST OF $ 180 MILLION CIS FUND DEFAULTERS

The East African (Nairobi)
21 April 2008Posted to the web 21 April 2008
Mike MandeNairobi
Borrowers from the Tanzania Commodity Import Support (CIS) fund are in trouble as the government is engaging a collection agency to recover the debts owed by individuals and firms that have defaulted.
The move comes as the names of prominent figures in the ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), former ministers and Members of Parliament are emerging among individuals and firms that have defaulted on payments to the $180 million CIS fund.
The names, which are to be made public in two months' time, interestingly also include individuals and firms that have also been mentioned in the External Payment Arrears account (EPA) scandal at the Bank of Tanzania.
A director of one of the 980 firms that have defaulted on repaying funds loaned to them from 1980 to 1992/1993, said their names would be published in the print media in the next two months.
Investigations by The EastAfrican have revealed that the businessman, who is on the 10-member board of trustees of CCM, obtained a loan of $500,000 from the Fund through his firm.
It was established that some borrowers have started to sell off properties including family houses to service the loans before the three-month deadline for returning the money to the government.
The investigation further showed that most of the Tanzanian firms and businesses who obtained the money from the CIS coffers did not have the 30 per cent cash collateral required to be paid before securing the loan.
Some local firms and businessmen that did not have the 30 per cent cash instead sought the assistance of Tanzanian businessmen of Asian origin, who paid the money and later obtained 50 per cent of the loan as their cut. The borrower ended up securing 50 per cent of the loan, while paying nothing as collateral.
A former Minister of Transport and Communication in the second and third phase government, Ernest Nyanda, who is now deceased, was said to have obtained more than $150,000, which he used to buy the ill-fated passenger vessel mv Zahara through his firm, Victoria Marine Passenger Transport Services Ltd. The firm has since been liquidated.
The ship, which was built in 1965 in Greece as a military cargo ship before it was brought to Tanzania in 1999 as a passenger ship plying the Dar-Mtwara route, and was until recently still lying at Dar es Salaam port, had a capacity of 300 passengers and 285 tonnes of cargo with a gross tonnage of 1,369.4 and is now at the centre of a legal battle between the concerned parties.

Other firms mentioned among the CIS defaulters are the Noble Azania group of companies in Tanzania owned by JayantKumar Patel, alias Jeetu Patel, who is also mentioned in the EPA account scandal. He is said to have obtained $145 million from CIS through various deals with Tanzanian businessmen who wanted the collateral of 30 per cent deposit.
The other firms that allegedly benefited from CIS and EPA funds include Njake Hotel and Tours, which also owns petrol stations and truck transportation in the northern region. Others are Tanil Somaiya and his close associate Vimal Mehta through their firms Merlin International and Vithcorp Foods Packers.
Ketan Somaiya, based in Kenya, who managed through CIS to establish the defunct Delphis Bank, is also mentioned.
Ramadhani Kijjah, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, told The EastAfrican last week in Dar es Salaam that the government intends to engage debt collectors during the financial year 2007/2008 to collect all outstanding debts owing to the CIS under the Japanese Non-Project Grant and Debt Relief Grant intended for various beneficiaries countrywide.
The deputy PS said that there were about 916 debtors countrywide with an outstanding debt of about 16.6 billion Japanese Yen ($162 million) who have not paid back their loans, including accrued interest.
The government has already issued an ultimatum to 916 firms that have failed to return money amounting to $180 million to do so or face legal action.
The 916 firms were given three months to return the funds they took as loans from the Tanzania Investment Bank and other local banks through the central bank.
The government move comes in the wake of the Bank of Tanzania scandal in which more than 133 million was improperly paid to 22 local firms through the External Payment Arrears (EPA) account during the period 2005/2006.

China still a small player in Africa

By Special Correspondent Firoze Manji
While keeping an eye out on China, Africans should not be distracted from paying attention to the West`s continued exploitation of the continent including the use of military might to protect its economic interests. ``What I find a bit reprehensible is the tendency of certain Western voices to ? raising concerns about China`s attempt to get into the African market because it is a bit hypocritical for Western states to be concerned about how China is approaching Africa when they have had centuries of relations with Africa, starting with slavery and continuing to the present day with exploitation and cheating.`` Open any newspaper and you would get the impression that the African continent, and much of the rest of the world, is in the process of being `devoured` by China. Phrases such as the `new scramble for Africa\', `voracious`, `ravenous`or `insatiable` `appetite for natural resources` are typical descriptors used to characterise China`s engagement with Africa. In contrast, the operations of western capital for the same activities are described with anodyne phrases such as `development`, `investment`, `employment generation`(Mawdsely, 2008). Is China indeed the voracious tiger it is so often portrayed as? China`s involvement in Africa has three main dimensions: foreign direct investment, aid and trade. In each of these dimensions China`s engagement is dwarfed by those of US and European countries, and often smaller than those of other Asian economies. Foreign direct investment (FDI) of Asian economies globally has been growing. The total flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) from Asia to Africa is estimated to have been an annual average of $1.2 billion during 2002-2004 (UNCTAD, 2006). Chinese FDI in Africa has in fact been small in comparison to investment from Singapore, India and Malaysia, which are the principal Asian sources of FDI in Africa according to UNDP (2007) with investment stocks of $3.5 billion and $1.9 billion each by 2004, respectively. Such investments are greater than those of China. The same report goes on to say, however, that Asian investments in Africa are dwarfed by those of the United Kingdom (with a total FDI stock of $30 billion in 2003), the United States ($19 billion in 2003), France ($11.5 billion in 2003) and Germany ($5.5 billion in 2003). And if China sits in fourth place amongst the Asian `tigers`, the scale of its investments in Africa are miniscule in comparison to the more traditional imperial powers. Asian FDI flows to Africa have certainly grown 10-fold since the 1980s, but smaller than the 14-fold growth in FDIs globally in the same period. Compared with India, for example, China`s FDI is small. India has a larger investment in oil in Sudan and Nigeria than does China. Of 126 greenfield FDI projects in Africa, Indian companies accounted for the largest number. Indeed, amongst the Asian economies, Malaysian companies dominate in mineral extraction sector in Africa. Africa`s share of total outward flow of Chinese FDI is marginal - only 3 per cent goes to Africa, while Asia receives 53 per cent, Latin America 37 per cent. It should be borne in mind that China is a net recipient of FDI, and receives a flow of FDI also from Africa: SAB Miller breweries and SASOL from South Africa, Chandaria Holdings in Kenya, amongst many others. Africa is certainly important trade partner for China, the volume increasing from $11 billion in 2000 to some $40 billion in 2005. China has a growing trade surplus with Africa. According to UNDP (2007), China has become the third largest trading partner of Africa, following the United States and France. China has focused primarily on the import of a limited number of products - oil and `hard commodities` for a few selected African countries. China`s trade with Africa represents only a small proportion of Africa`s trade with the rest of the world, and is comparable to India`s trade with Africa, although both have been growing rapidly. China imports from Africa five main commodities - oil, iron ore, cotton, diamonds and logs. The export of these commodities, and in particular oil, has grown significantly in the last ten years. A few African countries (Sudan, Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya) source a significant share of their imports of manufactured products, mainly clothing and textiles, from China. (Kaplisky, McCormick and Morris, 2007). China has been vigorously castigated for its support of repressive regimes. In almost all cases, China`s involvement has been in support of its need for strategic natural resources, especially oil. And it is perhaps here that one finds the reason for the fears expressed in the west about China`s role in Africa. USA is the world`s largest consumer of oil products , with 25% of its requirements destined to come from Africa. While China sources some 40% of its oil from the Middle East, it currently sources 23% from africa 23%. Much attention has been drawn to the negative impact of the cheap Chinese commodities on African economies. Certainly this has contributed to the decline of industrial production and the growing retrenchment of workers. But China has essentially taken advantage of the `opening-up` of Africa`s market that has resulted from the adoption of neoliberal economic policies that the international financial institutions, backed by the majority of the international aid agencies, have forced Africa`s governments to comply with. Given that the relative size of Chinese imports is small in comparison to imports from industrialised countries, the blame for the decline in industrial production and growing unemployment in Africa can hardly be place entirely at China`s door. Furthermore, it is important to recognise that some 58% of exports from China are manufactured by foreign owned companies. The retrenchments and closures of local industries occurring as a result of cheap goods imported from China need to be placed at the door of the multinationals concerned as much as on the Chinese government and Chinese companies. Just like other western powers, China has used aid strategically to support its commercial and investment interventions in Africa. Aid has taken the form of financial investments in key infrastructural development projects, training programmes, debt relief, technical assistance and a programme of tariff exemptions for selected products from Africa, not dissimilar to the agreements that Africa has had with Europe, US and other western economies. China`s aid is attractive to African governments not only because of the favourable terms offered, but in particular because of the lack of conditionality that is offered that has so constrained, and many would argue, undermined develop that would have the potential for bringing about social progress. The most serious worry for the US was expressed by the spokespersons of the IMF and World Bank who complained that China\'s unrestricted lending had `undermined years of painstaking efforts to arrange conditional debt relief`. There is clearly concern that China can now offer favourable loans to Africa and weaken imperial leverage over African economies. (Campbell, 2007). ``The US and World Bank claim to be fighting poverty in Africa,`` he continues, ``but after two decades of structural adjustment the conditions of the African poor have worsened, with indices of exploitation and deprivation increasing by geometric proportions. According to one estimate, at the present pace of investment in Africa from the West, it will require more than one hundred years to realise the Millennium Development Goals. Chinese investment potentially provides an alternative for African leaders and entrepreneurs, while providing long term potential for the development of African economies.`` ``China`s official development discourse is explicitly non-prescriptive, employing a language of `no strings attached`, quality and mutual benefit. It emphasises the collective right to development over the rights-based approaches focused on individual rights. Once the dust settles on the current China-in-Africa fever, and notions of China`s exceptionalism wear off, all involved will need to harness hopes to realistic vehicles in order to make the most of the current potential.`` (Large, 2007). Rocha (2007) suggests that Chinese investments in Africa are having and could continue to have some positive impacts. China is helping African countries to rebuild their infrastructure and providing other types of assistance to agriculture, water, health, education and other sectors. This could have very positive spin-offs in lowering transaction costs and assisting African governments to address social calamities such as poor health services, energy crisis, skills development. However, it is true that `Chinese companies are quickly generating the same kinds of environmental damage and community opposition that Western companies have spawned around the world` (Chan Fishel 2007). The evidence available suggests that the drive to increasing the rate of profit is exhibited as much by Chinese as by western capital. The west has the advantage in having already established its dominant position that is potentially being threatened by the `new boy on the block`. But China has the advantage of never having enslaved or colonized the continent. China has also not made any false promises coated with neo-liberalism. While the West, the IMF and the World Bank put conditions that only aid in their fleecing of Africa, China has so far been willing to provide unconditional aid and invest in infrastructure. At the same time, however, it freely takes full advantage of the opening up of markets that neo-liberal economic policies over the last 25 years have offered, unencumbered. And so far, unlike the US, China has not sought to establish military bases in Africa to protect its economic interests, which the US has sought to establish through AFRICOM Firoze Manji is director of Fahamu and editor of Pambazuka News.
SOURCE: Guardian

The First Lady Mama Salma Kikwete with US First Lady Laura Bush shortly after she arrived at the White House in Washington DC this morning to pay a courtesy call on Mrs. Bush.
Mama Kikwete is on a one week working tour of the US to forge links and establish partneships with other US based Non-Governmental Organisations for the implementation of her Wanawake na Maendeleo(WAMA) foundation's five year strategic plans.
WAMA's five year strategic plans aim at implementing the foundations' objectives that include, girl child education, Maternal and Child health, care for orphaned and vulnurable children and Women empowerment

The American University School of Communication students speaks with the First Lady Mama Salma Kikwete shortly after she presented a paper at the campus this evening
ICT FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT VITAL—MAMA KIKWETE
By Freddy Maro in Washington9 April 2008.The First Lady Mama Salma Kikwete has said that it would be vital for the Tanzanian community to keep pace with the advancement of communications technology in order to maximize its full potential for the benefit of the society in general.The First Lady said this at the American University in Washington DC when she presented a paper on Investing in Education and Health Economic Empowerment and the Role of Communication: WAMA’s Communication strategy.The event was organized by the US based Non-Governmental organization Network for the Improvement of World Health in collaboration with School of Communication,American University AU.Mama Kikwete who is also the chairperson of the Wanawake Na Maendeleo foundation WAMA said that communication was the enabling tool WAMA uses to achieve its goals and that communication is the process through which ideas are expressed and information is exchanged between individuals.“ WAMA cares about the ideas we communicate as much as we do the means through which we transmit them,” the First Lady said adding that WAMA in line with the National HIV/AIDS communications strategy is engaged in a number of different activities to protect vulnerable groups in the society especially women and children and improve their health in general.She said her foundation launched the campaign with a theme” Treat Every Child as Your Own” to mobilize communities in Tanzania to respond to the country’s challenges regarding youth HIV/AIDS prevention and support for orphans and vulnerable children.WAMA chairperson further revealed that her foundation was currently working on a national mass media program entitled ” Save a Un born Child” a maternal and child health campaign that includes a focus on the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV.“The campaign uses an integrated approach of billboards, radio, and Television spots as well as print material throughout the country to educate pregnant women about the importance of getting tested for HIV to prevent the transmission of HIV to their children if they are HIV positive,” she said.Mama Kikwete said WAMA was seeking to share the experience of women and young people with a larger Tanzanian family a move that necessitates the need to move beyond standard mass media campaigns towards other approaches that utilize the newest forms of Communication technology namely, the internet.
In his vote of thanks, The Dean of America University School of Communication Dr. Larry Kirkman thanked Mama Kikwete for her presentation and said the school will establish links with WAMA, in the near future, in order to enable the students do their research and other projects in Tanzania adding that the foundation was an ideal place for students to experience what they learn theoretically.The First Lady is in the US at the invitation of Network for The Improvement of the World Health, a trip that aims at forging collaborative links with similar objectives with WAMA in order to implement the foundation’s five year strategic plan with programs geared towards Girl Child Education, maternal and Child Health, Care for orphans and vulnerable children and empowerment of Women.

The First Lady Mama Salma Kikwete presents a paper on,"Investing in Education and Health for Economic empowerment and the Role of Communication" WAMA initiative, at the American University, school of Communication in Washington DC this evening

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE LEON H.SULLIVAN FOUNDATION

PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. I appreciate the warm welcome. Last Thursday Laura and I returned from a six-day visit to Africa. It happened to be her fifth visit, and my second. Without a doubt, this was the most exciting, exhilarating, uplifting trip I've taken since I've been the President. It was an unbelievable experience. (Applause.) And I want to thank the Sullivan Foundation for letting me come by to visit with you about the trip. And I appreciate the good work they're doing on behalf of the people on the continent of Africa. Hope, thank you very much for introducing me and inviting me back. It's always an honor to be with Andrew Young, Chairman of the Board of -- (applause). By the way, I should have recognized Carl Masters, your husband -- (laughter) -- that was a major faux pas, just like I should have recognized that my wife unfortunately is not here, but she sends her very best regards. I do appreciate very much Ambassador Howard Jeter for his service to the United States. I thank the members of the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation who are with us. Pleased to see members of the Diplomatic Corps who have joined us. I'm honored that Congressman Donald Payne, who is the Chairman of the Africa and Global Health Subcommittee, has joined us today. Thank you for coming, Mr. Chairman. (Applause.) He's knowledgeable about the issues on the continent of Africa, and that's good. And I want to thank you for your interest and your diligence. Sheila Jackson Lee -- she's supposed to be here. If she's not here, I'll give her an excused absence -- after all, she is from Texas. (Applause.) I appreciate so very much Jendayi Frazer. (Applause.) I probably won't have to say anything else. (Laughter.) She's been awesome to work with, in putting this strategy in place. I appreciate very much Rear Admiral Tim Zeimer. He's in charge of the Malaria Initiative. Admiral Zeimer, he's a no-nonsense guy. I hope people have come to realize I am, too. I'm not interested in promises, I'm interested in results. That's why I went to Africa -- to see results firsthand. Admiral Zeimer, we're getting great results on the Malaria Initiative thanks to your leadership. (Applause.) Lloyd Pierson, President and CEO of the African Development Foundation -- appreciate your leadership, Lloyd. Jody Olsen, Deputy Director of the Peace Corps. (Applause.) Contain yourselves. (Laughter.) Although I'll tell you -- it's not a part of this speech, but I had a wonderful lunch with Peace Corps volunteers in Ghana. Our Peace Corps is full of compassionate, hard-working, decent people who are serving America on the front lines of compassion. And I really can't thank the Peace Corps enough. (Applause.) Last time we met was at your summit in Nigeria, and that was during my first trip to Africa. You know, things have changed in Africa since then, I mean striking changes. These changes are the result of a new generation of African leaders -- they're reformers who are determined to steer their nations toward freedom and justice, prosperity and peace. They're also the result of new American policy and new American commitments. In my first term, we more than doubled development assistance to Africa. And at the beginning of my second term, I asked the United States Congress to double our assistance again. It is an important commitment that Congress can make. I'm looking forward to working to get these budgets out, Mr. Chairman. America is on a mission of mercy. We're treating African leaders as equal partners. We expect them to produce measurable results. We expect them to fight corruption, and invest in the health and education of their people, and pursue market-based economic policies. This mission serves our security interests -- people who live in chaos and despair are more likely to fall under the sway of violent ideologies. This mission serves our moral interests -- we're all children of God, and having the power to save lives comes with the obligation to use it. This mission rarely makes headlines in the United States. But when you go to Africa, it is a visible part of daily life -- and there's no doubt that our mission is succeeding. You see it when you hold a baby that would have died of malaria without America's support. You see it when you look into the eyes of an AIDS patient who has been brought back to life. You see it in the quiet pride of a child going to school for the first time. And you see that turning away from this life-changing work would be a cause for shame. The best argument for our development programs is found in the people they benefit. So with the help of our fabulous White House photographers, I have assembled a slide show -- (laughter) -- of images from our visit. And this morning, it is my pleasure to share it with you. (Applause.) (Slideshow begins) Our first stop was to the Western African nation of Benin, where we touched down on a Saturday morning. Benin is a vibrant democracy with a rich history. It has a wise and determined leader in President Yayi. I was proud to be the first sitting American President to visit the country. At the airport, we were greeted by women and children wearing traditional dress, and they were dancing and playing drums. And they brought several hand-painted signs that the American people need to look at: "Benin people and his President thank the whole U.S. people." "Beninese people will remember forever." President Yayi and I had a productive meeting. He told me that the Malaria Initiative and our $307 million Millennium Challenge Compact are helping alleviate poverty and save lives in his country. And I told him that America's support is a reflection of his commitment to govern justly and to tackle problems head on. I congratulated him on his effort to fight malaria, which apparently includes a national awareness day called "George W. Bush Day." (Laughter.) I pointed out to him that hasn't even happened in Texas. (Laughter and applause.) While President Yayi and I had our discussion, Laura and Mrs. Yayi met with girls who have received scholarships through our Africa Education Initiative. In Benin, these scholarships cover the cost of school supplies, such as uniforms and books and oil lanterns that allow students to read at night. Many of these girls are the first in their family to complete primary school. And their plans didn't stop there. Three girls told Laura that their goal is to become the first woman President of Benin. (Applause.) Laura and I left Benin impressed by the energy and determination of its people. Benin is an optimistic, it is a confident, and it is a capable nation. And it was a great place to begin our visit to Africa. Our next stop was Tanzania. We were met by President Kikwete and Mrs. Kikwete, as well as Tanzanians -- they were dancing and they were playing great music. And there was also some unexpected fashion. (Laughter and applause.) I thought the dresses were pretty stylish. (Laughter and applause.) But my good wife reminded me that I shouldn't expect to see them flying off the shelves in American stores anytime soon. (Laughter.) As we drove from the airport to our hotel, there were tens of thousands of people who lined the motorcade route to show their gratitude to the American people -- and many of them were smiling and they were waving and they were holding flags. It was an unbelievable -- unbelievable sight. Sunday morning began with a meeting with President Kikwete at the State House. The President told me that relations between our nations are the best they have ever been. He said that America's support is helping Tanzania improve education, and fight HIV/AIDS, and dramatically reduce malaria. He gave me a memorable gift. Laura said we probably need another pet -- (laughter) -- I'm worried that Barney might be slightly intimidated. (Applause.) Following our meeting, we signed the largest Millennium Challenge Compact in the history of the program. The $698 million agreement will support Tanzania's efforts to improve transportation and energy and water supply. At a news conference, I again called for Congress to reauthorize the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, to maintain the principles that have made it a success, and to double our initial commitment to $30 billion over the next five years. (Applause.) Then President Kikwete jumped in to say -- and I want to quote him on this -- "If this program is discontinued or disrupted, there would be so many people who lose hope; certainly there will be death. My passionate appeal is for PEPFAR to continue." I couldn't agree more with the President. And I hope every member of the United States Congress hears that appeal. They should also hear about the HIV/AIDS clinic at the Amana District Hospital, where Laura and I visited with the President and Mrs. Kikwete on Sunday afternoon. The clinic opened in 2004 with support from PEPFAR. And two thoughts struck me on the visit -- first, this program is saving lives, there are tangible results. When I visited sub-Saharan Africa in 2003, 50,000 people were receiving medicine to treat HIV/AIDS. When I visited again last week, the number had grown to more than 1.3 million. (Applause.) At the clinic, we visited with a man and woman who learned they had HIV while they were dating -- but went on to get treatment, get married, and have a little baby boy who is HIV-free. (Applause.) We saw many others who have new hope because of PEPFAR -- including a 9-year-old girl who is HIV-positive. She was smiling at the clinic with her grandmother, because -- sitting at the clinic with her grandmother because her mom and dad had died of AIDS. For the past year, Catholic Relief Services has been paying for the girl to receive treatment at the clinic. And I want to tell you what her grandmother said: "As a Muslim, I never imagined that a Catholic group would help me like that. I am so grateful to the American people." The second important point is that PEPFAR is allowing African nations to lay the foundation for a health system that does more than treat HIV/AIDS. When patients report to the clinic, they are given a series of tests, they get results quickly from a laboratory on site, and they can receive treatment in the same place. I was struck by the devotion and the professionalism of the clinic's staff. They spoke proudly about the rigorous training they received, and the meticulous way they instruct patients on how to take their medicine. One nurse said PEPFAR funds are helping them to treat more patients while providing more privacy. This is helping extend lives, reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS, and build the health infrastructure that will save many more lives in the future. On Monday, we traveled to the northern part of Tanzania. We passed Mount Kilimanjaro, and drove past a lot of people who were lining the street on the way to the city of Arusha. Of course, that's where the Sullivan Foundation is going to have its next meeting. You'll like it up there. (Laughter.) And the people will like seeing you. It's also on the frontlines of Tanzania's fight against malaria. Laura and I visited the Meru District Hospital, and we saw moms and babies that were overcoming this disease. When new mothers bring their babies, the hospital immediately tests them for malaria and HIV. Nurses distribute bed net vouchers, which mothers can use to buy insecticide-treated bed nets from local retailers at a 75 percent discount. I was concerned about the 75 percent discount, and so I announced a new effort -- and that is to distribute an additional 5.2 million bed nets free of charge. (Applause.) And that would be enough for every child in Tanzania between the ages of one and five. It is irresponsible to sit on the sidelines knowing that young babies are needlessly dying across the continent of Africa and elsewhere. And I was really pleased to be able to kickoff this new initiative by handing out bed nets to this young mother. (Applause.) So it made sense to go to the local factory where the bed nets are produced -- called A to Z Textiles. On the floor of the newly opened facility, we saw the nets produced in a clean, safe working environment. The owner explained that the factory employs 1,200 local workers. If we're helping projects in Africa, we want those projects to employ people from the country in which we're helping. (Applause.) And the vast majority of those workers are women. He takes great pride in supplying bed nets to Zanzibar, where the percentage of infants -- I want you to hear this -- where the percentage of infants infected with malaria has dropped from about 20 percent to less than 1 percent in two years. (Applause.) He called America -- the American people's efforts to fight malaria "a Godsend." And I agree. I thanked him for his good work, and was honored to see stacks of these life-saving nets bearing the name of the United States of America. (Applause.) In the afternoon, we visited a Maasai girls' school, where we received an unbelievably stirring welcome from the students. This school is led by a Catholic nun, who was on my left, empowers girls who have long lacked education. The girls receive scholarships from our Africa Education Initiative. The girls sang these lyrics: "Look at us. Listen to our voices. Today we can study because of the American people." It was a stirring anthem. We also met a group of Maasai men -- these guys can flag jump. (Laughter.) Unbelievably powerful experience for Laura and me -- and it was a great way to close our visit to Tanzania. Early Tuesday morning, we headed to Rwanda. After flying over Lake Victoria, we touched down in the beautiful city of Kigali. We were greeted by Rwanda's thoughtful and effective leader, President Paul Kagame, along with Mrs. Kagame. Our first stop in Rwanda was to the Kigali Memorial Center. Laura and I laid a wreath to honor the victims of the 1994 genocide. I don't know if our citizens understand this, but between 800,000 and a million people were murdered in a very short period of time. More than 250,000 are buried at this memorial -- and many of them were children, who are depicted in photographs that were donated by their families. This is a moving, moving memorial. One inscription read: "Age: 4. Enjoyed: Singing and dancing." And then it listed the brutal way in which this young girl was murdered. The memorial is a moving reminder that evil is real -- and we must confront it wherever it happens. The memorial center is also a reminder of how far Rwanda has come in the past 14 years. During our meeting, President Kagame updated me on his country's dramatic and hopeful turnaround. Rwanda has taken bold steps to foster reconciliation, rebuild its devastated infrastructure, and to grow its economy. It is a hopeful country. And to build on this progress, the President and I signed a bilateral investment treaty, which will help attract more capital to Rwanda's dynamic economy. We're also cooperating on matters beyond Rwanda's borders. I thanked Rwanda for being the first nation to contribute peacekeepers to Darfur. And I announced that the United States has committed $100 million to assist African nations willing to step forward and serve the cause of peace in Darfur. (Applause.) I also had the honor of dedicating a new U.S. Embassy in Kigali, which is a sign of our lasting commitment and our deep friendship. Our final stop in Rwanda was a hillside school that is supported by PEPFAR, the emergency plan. It was a really interesting experience. We met with a lot of students and their parents. You know, this is a scene at the most popular club at the school -- which is the anti-AIDS club. The students told me about their ambitious projects, which include teaching abstinence and providing HIV/AIDS testing and counseling. Abstinence may be controversial in the halls of Congress; it is not controversial on this campus. As a matter of fact, they put a skit on for us. In it, a girl is approached by a rich man, who offers her gifts in exchange for sex. She calls it a "ridiculous" proposition and says, "I'm not that kind of girl." (Applause.) Laura and I departed Kigali inspired by the courage of the Rwanda people, grateful for their hospitality, and confident in their extraordinary potential for the future. Our fourth stop was Ghana. We received another warm welcome, with tens of thousands lining the street -- including thousands of school children in their uniforms. I suspect they're really happy I came -- they didn't have to go to school -- (laughter) -- at least until the motorcade passed. President Kufuor and I met at Osu Castle. It's a striking white building on the shore of the Atlantic. For generations, the castle was a post in the slave trade. And today it is a seat of a proud and democratic government. During our meeting, President Kufuor and I discussed the wide-ranging cooperation between the United States and Ghana. After the meeting, I added a new element to our partnership -- a $350 million initiative to target neglected tropical diseases like river blindness and hookworm across the globe. Needless to say, the President really welcomed this announcement. He spoke powerfully about the ideological struggle unfolding around the world, and he stressed the importance of America's continued engagement in Africa. Listen to his words: "If the United States should lock itself into isolationism and think it is safer, then I would say perhaps they don't know what is coming." Wise words from a wise man. Our next stop was a visit to the embassy staff at the U.S. Ambassador's Residence in Accra. I think the audience was happy to see Laura and me, it seemed that way -- but I know they were even more excited to see our surprise guest, reigning American Idol Jordin Sparks. (Applause.) This young child can sing. (Laughter.) And she sang the National Anthem that inspired all that were there. And I reminded people there that this spring, American Idol will again use its prominence across our TV screens to raise funds for malaria relief in Africa. (Applause.) After lunch, we went to a trade fair and met local merchants who export their products to the United States through AGOA. And my predecessor gets a lot of credit for getting AGOA out of the United States Congress, and I appreciate the Congress working to extend it again. This is a good program and it's working. At the trade fair, we saw how the USAID helps these budding entrepreneurs secure financing and increase their access to the U.S. market. Sometimes we take entrepreneurship for granted. The spirit exists, but sometimes people just need a little help. And that's what we're doing. One group called Global Mamas -- specializes in helping women entrepreneurs find new places to sell their goods. With USAID help, the company has gone from 7 employees to about 300 employees in five years. (Applause.) Those are before Global Mamas. (Laughter.) One woman named Esther runs a dressmaking company called My Redeemer Liveth. Since the trade hub opened, she's increased her exports and more than tripled her number of employees. She told me, "I'm helping other women, and I'm helping my family too." One of the keys to helping Africa succeed is to empower entrepreneurs. It is in our interest as well to open up trade and deal with subsidies and trade-distorting tariffs. And on the continent I assured the leaders that I am firmly dedicated to coming up with a successful Doha Round to make trade freer and fairer. (Applause.) After the trade fair, we drove to a local school for one of the best ways you can spend a sunny afternoon -- and that's watching a ball game. In this case, it was a tee-ball game. One team featured players from a local orphanage. Americans have got to know there's a lot of orphans on the continent of Africa as a result of disease and civil strife. It's in our interests to help the orphans, and we are. They were called the Little Dragons, and we played a team from a local school that happened to be called the Little Saints. (Laughter.) And we saw some very talented players. We also met great coaches and mentors -- many of them from our embassy -- who give their time to help the children improve themselves on the diamond and off. But this is more than a baseball program. This is a hopeful program. This is a program where people realize love. And this is a program where kids are able to develop aspirations and dreams. Some of them of course want to be big league players, but a lot of them -- and they'll find out if they can't hit the curve ball they won't be -- but a lot of them want to be doctors and pilots and engineers. One child told me: I want to be a fashion designer. (Laughter.) It's in our interests that we help people realize their dreams. Laura spent time with Ghana's schoolchildren. Here she is with Mrs. Kufuor -- they were treated to a kindergarten performance of a song about math, and they listened to a 5th-grade debate. And she opened a library -- Laura is a librarian, she loves the library, she loves books and she opened up a "reading hut," built with support of USAID. And beneath the shade of the hut, she enjoyed some story time with eager young readers and a "reading mascot." He's the guy on the left. (Laughter.) That evening, the President hosted a spectacular state dinner. The night ended with an impromptu dance to a traditional beat called High Life. Some of us put on a better performance than others. (Laughter and applause.) That is our Ambassador. (Laughter.) She was somewhat taken aback. (Laughter.) As was Laura and most everybody else in the audience. (Laughter.) I'm impressed by the President of Ghana. He is an example of a leader who has made right choices for his people. And it is in our interests to support such leaders. Early Thursday morning, we left Ghana for our final stop, which was Liberia. We were met by Africa's first democratically-elected woman president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. (Applause.) In her office in Monrovia, the President told me about the challenges her country faces -- and her detailed plan to meet them. She has assembled a wise group of advisers and ministers, many of whom were educated in the United States. And I took a little time there at the meeting to thank them for leaving our wonderful country to go back home and help this young democracy not only survive, but to thrive. I told the President that I admire Liberia's recovery from war, and that she could count on America to continue to stand by her side. And that's a commitment we must keep. The spirit of the Liberian people was unmistakable. We drove through the city, again there was some -- a lot of folks lining the road, and they were cheering, and they were enthusiastic, and they were waving flags. I went to thank those who work at our embassy, and I told them that the desire for freedom is universal. And it was interesting, the response from the Liberians in the audience, and they started shouting back, "Yes!" at the top of their lungs. They wanted America to hear their voices. When Liberian troops trained -- Liberia troops who were trained with U.S. funds marched past us, the President and me reviewing the troops. It was a proud moment. All of a sudden you're beginning to see a force take place that will be disciplined and serve the people, as opposed to intimidating the people. It's worth our interests and efforts to help train people -- these governments train force, to bring stability to their countries. But nothing sums up the new Liberia better than its approach to education. We had a roundtable at the University of Liberia. By the way, I'm pretty certain the President was educated at the University of Pennsylvania. The more people who come to be educated in the United States from abroad, the better off our country will be. (Applause.) This man here is getting U.S. help to train teachers and principals to help rebuild the country's school system. I met a 15-year old boy who was once reading well below grade level and he didn't like going to school -- that's what he said to the crowd. Both Presidents sitting there, he said, I just didn't like going to school. And he was falling behind. And yet there's a USAID program to help students like him catch up -- and now he wants to go to college. This woman I met told us that her husband left her and three children because she was illiterate. Pitiful excuse for not being -- you know, standing up and being a good father. But nevertheless, it's what she said. And now she has learned to read and she plans to go to college. And like a lot of other people we met, she wants to be the President of Liberia. (Laughter.) The progress in Liberia is real, and it is inspiring. As a Liberian official put it during a prayer at one of our ceremonies -- and these are prayerful people, and they're not afraid to pray in public. The nation has passed from "the valley of despair to the buoyancy of new hope." The Liberian people have a distance to travel -- but they do have an unshakable faith in liberty. And they got a faithful friend in the United States of America.
And so throughout our trip, Laura and I were overwhelmed by the outpouring of warmth and affection for the American people. Again and again, we heard the same words: "Thank you." Thank you for sparing lives from malaria and HIV/AIDS. Thank you for training teachers and bringing books to schools. Thank you for investing in infrastructure and helping our economies grow. Thank you for supporting freedom. And thank you for caring about the people of Africa. Americans should feel proud, mighty proud, of the work we're doing in Africa. At every stop, I told people that the source of all these efforts is the generosity of the American people. We are a nation of compassionate and good-hearted folks. We recognize the extraordinary potential of Africa. In schoolchildren waving flags on dusty roadsides, to nurses caring for their patients at busy clinics, to artisans selling their products in scorching heat, we saw people who have been given great challenges -- and responded to them with clear eyes and big hearts. In Rwanda, a school teacher was discussing the fight to eradicate malaria and AIDS with her class. And she explained her attitude this way: "It can happen here." With those words, she summed up the new spirit of Africa: confident and determined and strong. This is a spirit worthy of America's support. It is more powerful than any partisan quarrels here in our nation's capital. And having given our word, we must not turn back now. Congress needs to make America's commitment clear by fully and promptly funding our development programs. And presidential candidates of both parties should make clear that engagement with Africa will be an enduring priority of the United States. (Applause.) Laura and I are going to carry many fond memories from our trips to Africa. We will carry this clear conviction: With the continued support of America, the people of Africa can do more than survive -- the people of Africa can succeed. God bless. (Applause.)

Kikwete appointed to commission for Africa

By Guardian Reporter
President Jakaya Kikwete has been appointed to a special commission for Africa formed by Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who will also chair it. A State House press statement issued in Dar es Salaam yesterday said the commission would deal with issues relating to youths and employment in Africa. The youth generation could be used to bring about development and welfare in Africa, the statement quoted Rasmussen as saying. It added that the move had been prompted by the fact that half of sub-Saharan Africa`s population comprised under-18s. The commission`s objectives revolve around climate change, education, economic growth, and efforts to ensure gender equality and equity. Rasmussen places a premium on the need for a new outlook on ways of bringing about enhanced development and co-operation. This includes assistance and policies able to help Africans have a clearer picture of their contribution to world development. The Prime Minister said he had named President Kikwete to the commission ``for his great vision, experiences and leadership``. According to the statement, the President has accepted the appointment ``because the objectives of the commission are in line with Tanzania`s own policy of empowering youths and increasing employment in a bid to eradicate poverty``. The commission is set to hold its first meeting mid next month to draw up the strategies and plans of reaching its targets, with more meetings coming in the next one year. ``The recommendations of the commission and the results of its duties will be released in period of one year for implementation purposes,`` said the statement. Other members of the commission are to be drawn from non-governmental and other social organisations but no names were given. However, the statement said key development stakeholders from international organisations particularly from Africa, the private sector, as well as individual businesspeople and academics would also be involved in the commission`s meetings.
SOURCE: Guardian

His Excellency President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete for Tanzania Diaspora and Skills Forum in London

His Excellency President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete has kindly agreed to launch Tanzania Diaspora and Skills Forum in London on the 18th of April, 2008.
President Kikwete will deliver the keynote speech at the one day event to be held at the Savoy Place at the first Ever Tanzania Diaspora and Skills Forum to be held in London.The proposed conference organised by Tanzania High Commission, Tanzania Association UK and Africa Recruit is aimed at mobilizing and engaging the Tanzanian Diaspora, particularly in Europe and mainly in the United Kingdom to ensure that there is greater skills utilisation and investment by the Diaspora communities to the country. During the conference, key speakers will be invited from Tanzania and the Diaspora to inform and engage these groups on the various opportunities in the country.
To register for the forum click below:
www.africarecruit.com/Tanzania_Event/index.php
Target Audience:
Tanzanian DiasporaPrivate Sector from TanzaniaGovernment OfficialsDonors/Multilateral organisationsDiaspora Media
Engaging Skills of the Diaspora in TanzaniaThe knowledge and skills of the Diaspora is an additional source of engagement for countries to tap into in building the capacity and capabilities of organisations and ultimately the country. The event is aimed at galvanising the Tanzanian Diaspora of all generations in harnessing their skills, knowledge and investment in the continued economic development of Tanzania.
Africa Recruit survey of the Diaspora in 2006 indicated that over half left Africa for career professional reasons with a least over 70% of the respondents indicating that they had plans to return back home at some point in time and will like to explore how they can use their knowledge and skills in their country of origin development. Creating an environment to engage directly with potential employers will enable the Diaspora to make informed decisions.
The Diaspora confrence aims to fulfil key Government mission of endeavouring to create a platform of universal inclusionfor Tanzanian Diaspora Communityin the United Kingdom and Europe, so that they participate in the development of their country.
It will also host specific sessions devoted to employment opportunities in Tanzania, cost effective migrant remittances, how to engage with the host government and systems, role of the Diaspora in the development of Tanzania, issues relating to Brain Drain and Reversal thereof, the case for dual Citizenship, Investment opportunities in both Tanzania and the UK, opportunities in both Tanzania and the UK, opportunities to market Tanzanian products in the United Kingdom , methods of productive access to the Government and other institutions back home and , crucially how to create and maintain a conact network.
Abubakar Faraji
Swift Freights Uk Ltd.
Unit 62-8
Fountayne Road
London N15 4QL
United Kingdom
Tel:0208-801-9800
Mobile -07852260024

More pictures on president George W. Bush visits to Tanzania,February 2008

TANZANIA LEADER EMERGES AS REGIONAL POWER BROKER

By Daniel Wallis NAIROBI, March 4 (Reuters) - The involvement of Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete in sealing a deal to end Kenya's crisis has raised hopes he can push forward east African economic and political integration as a strong regional power broker.
Little known outside the region before now, Kikwete -- who is also the new chairman of the African Union -- extended his stay in Nairobi last week to try to get an agreement and appeared to have played a big role in securing one.
"There's clearly now a collegiate sense of wanting to sort things out on a regional level," said Tom Cargill, Africa programme manager at London's Chatham House think tank.
"It is a function of the developing east African community, and I think Kikwete's intervention is strongly rooted in that."
Violence over Kenya's disputed Dec. 27 presidential election had threatened to disrupt the whole region's economy, cutting supplies of fuel and other goods to a swathe of inland nations.
Exactly what Kikwete did to help push Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga to reconcile is unclear, but the perception that he was the one who made a difference has underlined his regional leadership.
His position is strengthened by U.S. support while there is no strong challenge in east Africa given the crisis sidelining economic heavyweight Kenya and the fact that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is no longer seen as such a darling of the West.
"KINGPIN"
Hailing Kikwete as the "man of the hour" and an emerging regional "kingpin", the East African newspaper summed up a rollercoaster February for the Tanzanian president, 57, who has a penchant for sharp suits and big sunglasses.
First he was elected chairman of the AU at a summit in Ethiopia. Then he was feted during a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush, who signed a $700 million aid grant and said he was honoured to call Tanzania's leader a friend.
Kikwete, a former foreign minister and ex-head of military intelligence, has solidified his popularity in the West by pursuing an anti-corruption campaign that has not spared senior members of his Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party.
Days before Bush's visit, Tanzanian Prime Minister Edward Lowassa quit the government over a parliamentary probe into a $150 million emergency power deal with a U.S. company.
Taking the opportunity to clean house, Kikwete slashed the number of ministry jobs in his cabinet by nearly a third.
"The big question now is how will his newfound status play in the region," said Mwefiga Baregu, professor of politics and international relations at Tanzania's Dar es Salaam University.
He said it would still be a tough challenge for Kikwete to balance AU problems like Darfur and Somalia with local issues like graft, the economy and turbulent politics on the Zanzibar isles.
"Will he just be a 'kingpin' in terms of U.S. interests, or can he use it to consolidate the process of moving the East African Community (EAC) to a common market and political union, without ignoring pressing domestic concerns?
"It is an area where he'll have to tread very carefully."
TRADE BLOC
The EAC set up a customs union for Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania that came into effect in January 2005, and it welcomed new members Rwanda and Burundi last June, making a trade bloc with a combined population of around 110 million people.
The region plans to have a common market and monetary union by 2012, then a single parliament and president by 2013.
Tanzania, with a population of 39 million, has slightly more people than Kenya. Tanzania's economy lags its northern neighbour by far and it remains one of the world's poorest countries, but reforms have won it donor support while it has become a new frontier in the hunt for oil and gas.
Some believe Kikwete's new position in the world spotlight could still put him at loggerheads with Uganda's long-serving Museveni, whose star has waned in recent years.
Museveni had been the first of very few African leaders to congratulate Kenya's Kibaki on his disputed re-election, turning himself into a hate figure for Odinga supporters overnight.
He said he was only trying to restore vital stability to the region, and analysts said that was revealing.
"These three states feel they have a role in each other's affairs. In other parts of Africa, sovereignty issues mean things have to be done quietly," Chatham House's Cargill said.
"In east Africa, there is a sense that Tanzania is not quite a foreign country. The three nations have a shared sense of ownership, which is a really positive thing. I don't think the East African Community often gets the credit that it's due." (Editing by Bryson Hull and Matthew Tostevin)

HOW KIKWETE,NEW DARLING OF THE WEST,SAVED KENYA FROM COLLAPSE

What influence and clout did the chairman of the African Union, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, bring to bear on the Kenyan mediation process?
Those were the questions on the lips of most observers as the country celebrated last Thursday’s historic breakthrough in the protracted negotiations.
His intervention came at a time when the negotiations were on the brink of collapse. But Kikwete came into the scene with confidence, declaring that a deal was in the making — and sure enough, it was.
What did he tell President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga?
One theory has is that he came to town with a terse message from US President George W. Bush to the effect that the power-sharing deal must be sealed by all means.
As chairman of the African Union, Kikwete has recently emerged as a key ally and kingpin of the US in the region.
Although this same message had already been passed to Kibaki by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who had visited Nairobi barely a week earlier, Kikwete’s intervention was bound to meet with a better reception in Nairobi considering that he came to the Kenyan capital wearing two hats — president of a neighbouring fellow member of the East African Community as well as chairman of the African Union.
His visit to Nairobi had added significance in the wake of thinly-veiled threats by the US government, the European Union and even the United Nations of an intervention in the country if the mediation talks failed.
It was US top diplomat Jendayi Frazer who early this month on the sidelines of a summit meeting of the African Union in Ethiopia first issued the threat that the international community would impose a solution on Kenya if the mediation process led by Kofi Annan collapsed.
If any such intervention was indeed being contemplated, the person who would have known its scope and full consequences would have been the chairman of the African Union.
Hence, the theory that Kibaki capitulated in the face of the threat of an AU-led military intervention in the Kenyan crisis.
It appears that the US and other Western powers were worried that without concerted and sustained pressure, the AU would treat the Kenyan crisis with the same lukewarm approach it has adopted on Zimbabwe.
Kikwete’s intervention indicates that the Tanzanian president, who came to power in 2005, is gradually becoming the linkman of the US in the region, having replaced Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni.
Signs that the US now considers President Kikwete its chief regional ally came in September 2006 when it emerged, to Nairobi’s fury, that Kikwete had discussed Kenya’s “instability” with President Bush during a visit to the White House.
Kikwete’s rise as a regional kingpin has been bolstered by a high-profile anti-graft campaign he recently launched that has seen former powerful members of Tanzania’s ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), fall one after another — allowing him to redraw power centres and reform the grand old party.
He dissolved the Cabinet after he had accepted the resignation of his prime minister, Edward Lowassa, and two other ministers, Nazir Karamagi and Ibrahim Msabaha, who were both implicated in a major corruption scandal.
The ministers and several other officials were accused of interfering with an energy contract to favour the US-based Richmond Company, contravening laws and rules on procurement.
Observers also saw the reshuffle as a move to dismantle corruption networks within CCM and reclaim party organs from the control of a wealthy clique.
Having been elected the new AU chairman on January 31 this year at the summit in Addis Ababa, Kikwete’s role in resolving the Kenyan political crisis has given the AU a much-needed shot in the arm after its dismal performance in Darfur and Somalia.
As with the defunct Organisation of African Unity, the AU Constitutive Act adopted in July 2000 in Lome, Togo, prohibits interference by any member state in the internal affairs of another.
But Article 4 (h) gives the Union the right to intervene in a member state pursuant to a decision of the assembly in respect of grave circumstances such as war crimes, genocide and other crimes against humanity.
It is instructive that despite accepting the AU-sanctioned mediation, the Kenyan government had earlier maintained that the country was not at war and that an internal solution could be reached, despite the fact that the political crisis in Kenya has had a huge impact on the economies of Southern Sudan, Uganda, eastern Congo, Burundi and Rwanda.
The new deal involves the creation of the post of prime minister, which will put Kenya on the path to fully adopting a parliamentary system, a goal that has eluded the country for the past 15 years.
However, it is Kikwete’s emergence as an influential figure in the region that could spark a major realignment within the Great Lakes region. Until now, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, who is also the Commonwealth chairman, was believed to be the darling of the West.
However, his victory in the disputed 2006 elections and the harassment of opposition figures before and after the polls dented his image as a reformer who had saved Uganda from sliding into total anarchy.
Similarly, his move to change the constitution to do away with the presidential term limit did not go down well in the West.
In the late 1990s, Museveni, together with the late Congolese president Laurent Desire Kabila, Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Meles Zenawi (Ethiopia) and Isaias Aferworki of Eritrea, were seen by the West as a “new breed” of leaders with the vision to move Africa forward.
While President Museveni still remains a strong ally of the West, President Kibaki has had a love-hate relationship with the West since he adopted his “Look East” policy.

Tanzania seek foreign help to recover stolen funds

A JOINT REPORT
The East African
Tanzania has sought the services of foreign security agencies to investigate funds and assets stashed abroad by suspects implicated in the Bank of Tanzania external payments arrears account (EPA) scandal.
When The EastAfrican contacted the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of the United Kingdom, we were informed that although is aware of the issue, it does not as a matter of policy comment on requests for assistance from overseas authorities.
Jina Roe of the SFO told The EastAfrican from London that as any assistance granted would arise from a formal request from the Tanzanian authorities, it would be more appropriate that queries be raised with them.
“The SFO is not the only UK body that can be asked to assist with the freezing of assets if there are suspicions of serious or complex fraud or money laundering offences,” said Ms Roe.
A recent government statement said the team appointed to investigate the BoT fraud has already traced individuals implicated in the scam in and outside the country.
The team, which is headed by the AG, also comprises the Inspector General of Police and the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI). Its primary role is to follow up persons and companies involved for purposes of determining the legality or otherwise of each and every payment from the EPA account.
Already, one of the chief suspects in the EPA scam, Jayantkumar Patel, popularly known as Jeetu Patel, has been requested to appear before the investigators.
Mr Patel, who is also currently being investigated by the SFO over the $40 million BAE radar deal scandal, is said to own a $5 million waterfront property in the Burj area of Dubai.
These developments come amid reports that some of the stolen money has been recovered and returned to the central bank. Attorney-General Johnson Mwanyika said his team had recovered the funds, as directed by the president and prosecutions were likely to follow soon.
It is alleged that some of the properties bought from the “stolen” funds are in Dar es Salaam, Dubai, London and South Africa.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Joseph Ngobane, chief director communications and liaison services with the South African Police Service told The EastAfrican from Pretoria, last week that the investigating team is tracing assets in South Africa allegedly acquired through money that was paid out from the EPA.
Mr Ngobane said a number of properties have been identified so far and they are working with and passing on information to their Tanzanian counterparts.
According to the government statement, Jeetu Patel, Jose van der Merwe, Fundi Hayesh Kitunga, Charles Isaack Kissa, Peter Sabas and Beredy Sospeter Maregesi, are among directors and shareholders of companies that benefited from the EPA funds. Others are Johnson Mutachukurwa Lukaza, Japhet Laiyandumi Lema, Samson Mapunda, Kizza Selemani, Mwesiga Rutakyamilwa Lukaza, Emily Samanya, Massimo Faneli, Lecis Msiko, Paul Thobias Nyingo and Elisifa Ngowi.
Some of the directors of the companies involved in the scam have been made to sign deeds of settlement, which legally binds them to return the money.
Other shareholders and directors have been asked to surrender their travel documents and report to the police from time to time.
Sources in the investigating team also say that one of the companies, Kernel Ltd, which is owned by Johnson Mutachukurwa Lukaza, had an office in Dubai and in 2006 won a tender to supply a new fire engine to the Songea Town Council although the fire engine eventually supplied was said to be reconditioned.
The company is also said to have won a tender to install fire extinguishers and smoke detection system to the Tanzania Peoples Defence Forces (TPDF).
Sources said the Kernel Ltd Dubai office has since been closed following the ongoing investigation.
The AG said the team had also found the names of the directors and shareholders of Kagoda Agriculture Ltd which received $30.8 million.
Early last year the International Monetary Fund said that the EPA scam clearly specifies the nature of the problems identified during the special audit and the steps to be taken to rectify them.
The fund said it will request an updated safeguard assessment which are explicitly designed to evaluate the adequacy of internal checks and balances within a central bank to ensure that potential risks are mitigated.
Messers Malegesi and Lukaza are also said to own $200,000-worth Mercedez Benz and Range Rover respectively, imported from the United Kingdom.