INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Tanzania: June - July 2008 Political Roundup

Published: Fri 8 Aug 2008 08:26 AM
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RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHDR #0492/01 2210826
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 080826Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7762
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAR ES SALAAM 000492
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TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM PREL ECON TZ
SUBJECT: TANZANIA: JUNE - JULY 2008 POLITICAL ROUNDUP
1. (U) The June-July 2008 Political Roundup includes:
-- Donors drag feet on direct budget support
-- Former Regional Crime Officer on trial for murder
-- CHADEMA party deputy killed in road accident
-- Handicraft traders disappointed by Sullivan Summit
-- Budget session in full swing in Parliament
-- Government responds to university riots
-- "Phantom teachers" removed from payroll
Donors drag feet on budget support
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2. (U) Certain development partners who contribute directly to the
Government of Tanzania's (GOT) general budget are withholding the
2008/09 disbursements until the Government of Tanzania (GOT)
publicly reaffirms its commitment to tackle corruption. Donors are
hesitant to support the GOT's general budget following incidents
over the last six months of corruption, resignation of ministers
including the Prime Minister Edward Lowassa. The donors are also
asking for the implementation of recommendations from the Controller
and Auditor General's Office (CAG) made in the wake of its
investigation into various questionable financial dealings.
3. (U) Historically many donors have given unconditional budgetary
support to the GOT. However, some partners are reexamining this
unconditional support in the wake of allegations of corruption and
large sums of unaccounted for funds, with no arrests or prosecutions
to date. While the GOT has publicly announced its intentions to
move away from the dependence on donor money, the government would
need to broaden sources of tax revenue and/or substantially increase
its debt through loans to achieve this goal.
Abadallah Zombe trial reveals police brutality, theft
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4. (U) Former Dar es Salaam Regional Crime Officer, Abdallah Zombe,
and 12 other police officers have been accused of killing four
wealthy gemstone dealers and a taxi driver on January 16, 2006, in
Dar es Salaam. While the officers denied the charges, their trials
are revealing the use of arms and execution-style killings that have
sparked public outrage and calls for investigations into police
brutality and corruption. A pathology report confirms that the four
murder victims were shot in the back of the head while sitting or
kneeling in a group. This case has highlighted an underlying
mistrust of law enforcement authorities in Tanzania and persistent
allegations from the public of excessive use of force by the police.
CHADEMA party's deputy chairman killed in road accident
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5. (U) On July 29, the former Vice Chairman of the CHADEMA
opposition party, Chacha Wangwe, died in a road accident. He was
the elected Member of Parliament from Tarime district in northern
Tanzania. In the weeks immediately prior to the accident, Wangwe
had publicly accused other CHADEMA party officials of nepotism,
tribalism and misuse of party resources and government stipends.
Wangwe had also announced last month that he intended to run for the
national party chairmanship in November, 2008. This led to a bitter
leadership argument with CHADEMA party chairman, Freeman Mbowe, and
to Wangwe's suspension as national Vice Chairman.
6. (U) Wangwe's death left many of his party members accusing
CHADEMA officials of foul play. Based on rumors that he had been
shot, his relatives protested and forced postponement of his burial
ceremony until a second autopsy was performed. The results of this
postmortem, held in the presence of family members, government
representatives and select party members, affirmed that Wangwe's
death was from injuries sustained in the car accident. Wangwe's
driver, businessman Deus Mallya, has been arrested for reckless
driving and may face manslaughter charges.
8TH SULLIVAN SUMMIT: Tanzanian traders disappointed
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7. (U) The Eighth Sullivan Summit, although billed as "The Summit of
a Lifetime", has been dubbed by many small business owners in
Tanzania as the "Disappointment of a Lifetime." Most of the
activities at the Summit centered around structured programs in the
Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC), planned safaris, and
shopping stops away from the conference center. Numerous Tanzanian
handicraft traders had rented exhibition space at USD 500 for the
week-long event with the expectation of selling wares to the Summit
participants. However, there was little mention of the vendors
during the Summit's events. Also, the layout of the Summit grounds
did not allow for easy access to the vending areas.
8. (U) In addition, while some of the handicraft traders had rented
exhibition space adjacent to AICC and the Summit grounds, others
were given rental space some 10 miles away near the Arusha airport.
Several newspaper editorials said the least the organizers could
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have done was to offer an apology to the vendors who signed on with
high hopes yet were unable to realize any profit.
Calls for "people-centered" budget
---------------------------------
9. (U) June and July are focused on the annual budget session in the
Tanzanian Parliament. Members of Parliament (MPs) from several
political parties have called for the debate to be centered on duty
and patriotism rather than partisanship. Public expectations
continue to be high that this year's budget will offer relief from
the rising cost of food, transportation, and basic necessities. The
cost of living in Tanzania has gone up by 0.7 per cent to 9.7 per
cent in a little over one month.
Government acts on university riots
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10. (U) In mid-2008, the Government of Tanzania established a
Commission to investigate and respond to increased violence and
disruptive behavior among university students. The Commission is
headed by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology,
who is charged with discovering the root causes of campus
disruptions. Members of Parliament have inquired if the steps taken
by the Government have brought about long-term solutions to the
problem.
11. (U) The Commission's report determined that the main causes of
discontent among university students were delays in the disbursement
of student loans, shortages of funds for practical training, and an
inadequate development and research budget. A government official
said that the Student Loan Board for Higher Education has recently
been strengthened to iron out problems that led to the June 2007
student demonstrations at the University of Dar es Salaam. The
Board has increased both its staff and the qualifications for
employment. Also, offices have been better equipped and systems
upgraded to improve how to determine the economic situation of loan
applicants.
CCM members involved in corruption to face music
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12. (U) Following a review by the National Executive Committee (NEC)
of the ruling Chama Cha Mpinduzi (CCM) party, it was announced June
15 that any members implicated in corruption must be held
accountable and face possible expulsion from the party. This review
was a critique of government performance for the first half of CCM's
five-year mandate.
13. (U) Recent scandals, including the "Richmond deal" and the
External Payment Arrears (EPA) scandals, have damaged the ruling
party's image and disrupted the CCM internally. The Richmond
incident involved an irregular bidding process which awarded a power
production contract to the Texas-based Richmond Development Company
(RDC). This deal cost Tanzania millions of dollars, but never
produced any power.
14. (U) The External Payment Arrears (EPA) scandal revealed that
payments amounting to millions of dollars were made by authorities
at Tanzania's Central Bank to 22 companies that could not justify
the payments. Some payments were made on the basis of dubious
documentation.
15. (U) Former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa; former Minister for
Energy and Minerals, Nazir Karamagi; and former Minister for
Infrastructure Development, Andrew Chenge, have all been implicated
in corrupt practices. All of these events have damaged the ruling
party's credibility and image.
Education: phantom teachers
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16. (U) A government study claims that phantom workers cost Tanzania
taxpayers a total of TSh3 billion (USD 2.47 million) between 2001
and 2007. The Minister of State for Public Service Management, Hawa
Ghasia, said an investigation uncovered a total of 1,413 ghost
teachers in public secondary schools. In efforts to eliminate all
phantom teachers from the payroll, the Ministry of Education and
Vocational Training removed from the payroll about 1,853 teachers
who had been absent for a long periods of time without permission.
This brings to a total of 3,266 teachers removed from the payroll as
of May 2008.
17. (U) The problem at the Ministry of Education and Vocational
Training is exacerbated by the failure of officials to submit lists
of teachers who retire, die or resign from their jobs. Some
teachers were discovered to have more than one payroll number in the
Treasury System and were being paid under both numbers.
Green
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