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15/12/2007

MP wants UK to withhold Tanzania budget support

By WILFRED EDWIN

Tanzania is heading for a diplomatic tiff with the United Kingdom if a motion to block budget support to Tanzania passes through the British parliament.

House of Commons Conservative MP Roger Gale wants the UK government to withhold part of its promised £105 million ($212 million) support to the 2007/2008 Tanzania national budget.

The motion has been triggered by what the lawmaker describes as unfair treatment of two British investors in Silverdale Farm in Tanzania.

The issue involves a dispute over the lease to Silverdale and Mbono Farms pitting the two British investors, Stewart Middleton and Sarah Hermitage, who have set up a business in the northern town of Moshi, against a local businessman, hotelier Benjamin Mengi (brother of IPP media mogul Reginald Mengi), who assigned them the lease in 2004.

The lease has yet to be registered, and Mr Middleton has been arrested several times. The investors were also sued for libel on the basis of the newspaper article and judgement given to Mengi for $100,000 for defamation. The whole saga has become cause celebre in the international media.

Another issue raised by Mr Gale is the Tanzania government’s inability to curb corruption, even though Britain has been touting the country as a shining example of African development.

Mr Gale, MP for North Thanet, told The EastAfrican on Wednesday last week in a telephone interview from London that he was concerned that his government has failed to take Tanzania to task over the issue of mistreatment of British investors.

Mr Gale added that the failure of the Tanzanian government to resolve such issues erodes investor confidence.

“I’m seriously concerned with my government’s continuing support for Tanzania,” he said, adding that he has on three occasions contacted the Tanzanian High Commissioner to Britain, Phillip Parham, to discuss the issue.

The MP said he had received a letter from Mark Malloch-Brown, the State Minister at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office responsible for Africa, Asia and the UN, on the subject but did not disclose the contents of the letter.

Mr Gale, who is Ms Hermitage’s MP, has been calling for the British government to act on the case since 2006.

However, it appears that the Tanzanian government is content to let the judicial system take its course.

Patrick Mombo, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, told The EastAfrican in Dar es Salaam last week that Tanzania believes in good governance, and as such, would like to see the judiciary make decisions free from any interference.

Mr Mombo said that the Tanzanian legal system was capable of handling the issue.

Meanwhile, reliable sources in Westminster hinted that Mr Gale’s motion has not been internally discussed yet, and that there are currently no plans to cut back the Tanzanian aid package.

John Bradshaw, political and press officer at the British High Commission in Dar es Salaam, told The EastAfrican that although there is pressure from politicians to withhold part of the development funds for Tanzania, the government has not made any decision in that direction.

But Mr Bradshaw cautioned that, as is the case with all UK development assistance, his government regularly reviews the aid programme to Tanzania and takes account of all aspects of the country’s performance and prospects for reducing poverty.

“The experiences of investors, including cases such as this, are considered as part of those reviews. But the most important consideration is whether we believe our assistance will effectively reduce poverty,” he said.

According to Mr Bradshaw, the British High Commission in Tanzania has been in frequent contact with the British investors and continues to liaise with the Tanzanian government at the highest levels over the problems experienced by the two in developing their investment.

The High Commission hopes the Tanzanian authorities will ensure that these problems and all related matters are expeditiously and fairly resolved, Mr Bradshaw noted.

An estimated 6,000 UK nationals live and work in Tanzania.

For a long time now, Britain has been one of Tanzania’s leading trading partners and one of the largest foreign direct investors in the country.

UK companies have invested about £230 million ($322 million) in Tanzania over the past 11 years, mainly in the agricultural and tourist sectors.

The leading UK investors are CDC, BP, Standard Chartered, Barclays, Unilever and Mott MacDonald. UK exports to Tanzania were worth £71 million ($99.4 million) in 2005. Tanzanian exports to the UK were worth over £36 million ($50.4 million) in the same period.

ATC yatapeliwa sakata la mahujaji: tafuta nakala yako leo

DC Serengeti atengua zabuni za ujenzi wa hoteli za kitalii ::: Lowassa aagiza uwepo udhibiti leseni za uvuvi ::: TFF: Msiizomee Kili Stars ::: Cuba yapongeza maendeleo Z’bar ::: Watu 20 mbaroni kwa mauaji ya mwalimu ::: Tani 10 za korosho zaharibika kwa mvua ::: Vituko safari ya Hija ::: Walemavu walalamika kutoelimishwa Ukimwi ::: Kamati ya Richmond yaongezewa muda ::: Askofu kortini kwa kujipatia milioni 5.5/- kwa udanganyifu ::: Mikoa mitano kuwa na uhaba wa chakula ::: Zanzibar watakiwa kutoharibu mazingira ::: RC ashauri ifanyike tathmini ya majengo ::: KAMPALA Jiji la kihistoria katika vilima ::: STULI ZA ASILI Alama ya madaraka enzi za utawala wa machifu barani Afrika ::: Pwani ya Senegal katika mikakati za kutunza mazingira na kujenga ajira ::: Ufungaji makambi ya wakimbizi, kitendo kinachopaswa kupongezwa ::: Dhana potofu katika elimu, ajira itokomezwe ::: Wizara kuzalisha tani 40 za mbegu bora ::: SELOUS Hazina kubwa ya utalii Tanzania ::: Katibu Mkuu wa Chodawu asimamishwa kwa kutowajibika ::: Kili Stars yatinga robo fainali ::: Dk. Shein asifu kiwango cha maendeleo ya Cuba ::: Salma Kikwete azindua tawi jipya la CRDB Dar ::: Zanzibar yalalamikia mchezaji wa Ethiopia ::: Salma Kikwete mgeni rasmi mechi ya Twiga Stars ::: Kitivo Mlimani chazindua shahada ya biashara ya karadha ::: Mahujaji waondoka ::: Yanga yampa Mwalala siku tatu kurudi ::: Christiaanse awa mwenyekiti Chama cha wenye mabenki :::

::Habari:: ::

Kasi mpya yashukia vimini

Du usimuogope mtoto mdogo kwani Kwani Bahati ni upepe na sasa upo kwako be free my best friend Help me to move forward dont pull me out

Hope as first group pilgrims flies to Mecca.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- CIA Director Michael Hayden on Tuesday faced lawmakers to explain why his agency destroyed videotapes showing agents using harsh interrogation techniques that critics say amount to torture.

Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden testified on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday.

In addition to the hour he spent before the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday afternoon, Hayden is also scheduled to appear before a closed-door briefing before the House equivalent on Wednesday.

Hayden welcomed the chance, saying he was "very delighted to come on down and lay out the facts as we know them."

"It was a chance to lay out the narrative of what happened -- who did it, why the tapes were destroyed," Hayden later told reporters. He said lawmakers will also hear from "people with more knowledge of what happened."

The Justice Department and the CIA have launched an investigation.

Hayden disclosed both the existence and destruction of the tapes in a memo to CIA employees last week. U.S. officials said the recordings were made as "an internal check" on the CIA's use of interrogation techniques authorized in 2002 against suspected terrorists.

The interrogation tapes showed the use of the techniques on two al Qaeda suspects in 2002. The tapes were destroyed in 2005, "only after it was determined they were no longer of intelligence value and not relevant to any internal, legislative, or judicial inquiries," Hayden wrote.

One of the suspects, Abu Subayda, was "waterboarded" to get him to talk, and he yielded valuable information, a former CIA officer, John Kiriakou, on Tuesday told CNN. Watch Kiriakou discuss how he struggled morally with waterboarding »

Human rights groups consider waterboarding -- in which a prisoner is restrained and water poured over his mouth and nose to produce the sensation of drowning -- a form of torture dating back to the Spanish Inquisition.

Kiriakou, who was waterboarded as part of his CIA training, described the technique as "entirely unpleasant," and while he considered the practice "important" did not want to be associated with it. Kiriakou said participated in Zubayda's interrogation but not his waterboarding.

Sen. Kit Bond, the ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee, said nothing he heard during Hayden's appearance indicated anything "illegal or unlawful" was done. The committee's Democratic chairman, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, told reporters, "We need to get to the bottom of it."

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The House Intelligence Committee's chairman, Silvestre Reyes, and ranking Republican Rep. Peter Hoekstra announced their own investigation of the matter Monday and disputed Hayden's account last week that the committee had been properly notified of the decision to destroy the tapes.

"Our investigation will review issues surrounding the destruction of videos, the CIA's failure to notify Congress of this important matter and related questions concerning the CIA's interrogation program," they wrote.

A U.S. government official said Tuesday the tapes were destroyed in November 2005 on the orders of Jose Rodriguez, the head of the CIA's National Clandestine Service, who retired in September. Lawyers for the NCS gave written approval for the move, the official said.

Government officials have said that CIA General Counsel John Rizzo opposed destroying the tapes and found out only after the fact as did then-CIA Director Porter Goss, a former chairman of the House Intelligence committee.

One former intelligence official told CNN that Rizzo was "not really in the loop" on the decision and was "upset" about that. The official called it "conceivable but unusual" that the tapes would have been destroyed without Rizzo's input on the matter.

The New York Times, also quoting an anonymous former intelligence official, reported Tuesday that the spy agency was never given a direct order not to destroy the tapes. But a senior administration official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, contradicted that assertion.

"They were told not to destroy the tapes," the official said. "It was fairly unequivocal and completely unanimous. Everyone thought destroying the tapes was a bad idea. They got an answer. They're splitting hairs in terms of whether they got an answer or were ordered. Were they told we disagreed with the decision? There's no doubt about that."

The White House has said President Bush does not recall being aware of the tapes until being told last week of the destruction. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino has declined further comment, citing the preliminary investigation.

Bush acknowledged in 2006 that top al Qaeda captives were being held in CIA custody and subjected to "alternative" interrogation techniques, which he insisted had saved American lives and did not amount to torture. His administration refuses to confirm the use of specific techniques.

The revelations about the tapes emerged as Congress is poised to eliminate an exception made in 2006 for the CIA to use interrogation techniques beyond the limits of the Army Field Manual, which prohibits torture or abuse of prisoners.

On Monday Senate Intelligence Committee member Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey asking the Justice Department to take a fresh look at the CIA program.

And the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sens. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, and Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, called on Mukasey to explain the extent of the Justice Department's knowledge of the situation and involvement in the matter.

"When and how did department officials or attorneys first become aware of the existence of videotapes of detainee interrogations?" the senators asked. "Did the department evaluate the legality of the interrogation techniques used in the interrogations that were videotaped?"

Mukasey told reporters Tuesday that the inquiry was in the hands of Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein, who heads the Justice Department's new National Security Division. Despite scattered calls from Congress for appointment of a special prosecutor in the case, Mukasey said it's far too early to consider appointment of an outside investigator.

"I think the Justice Department is capable of doing whatever it appears needs to be done," he said. He called the question "the most hypothetical of hypotheticals" at this point. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Ed Henry, Pam Benson and Terry Frieden contributed to this report.

All About Central Intelligence Agency

::Habari:: Mawasiliano Ileje-Mbeya hatarini kukatika ::: Rushwa chanzo kikubwa cha kushamiri kwa bidhaa feki ::: Kili Stars kutupa karata nyingine leo ::: Naibu Waziri Kabaka kugombea ubunge Tarime ::: Serikali yaokoa mahujaji ::: Sudan yawamwagia sifa Kassim, Chollo ::: Ununuzi wa korosho usimamiwe kuepusha wakulima kunyonywa ::: Wafanyabiashara mihadarati sasa kufilisiwa mali zao ::: SPW Tanzania yazawadiwa milioni 110/- ::: Umbali mrefu wakimbiza wanafunzi Oljoro ::: Wenye gesti, hoteli Singida watakiwa kuboresha huduma ::: Ujambazi warindima Kagera,Kilimanjaro ::: Arusha yakemea wanaume wanaotafuta mapenzi kwa wanafunzi ::: Reli-Saccos yatoa mikopo ya milioni 68/- ::: Mtaji wa Mtanzania masikini ni Saccos’ ::: Mkwasa atamba Twiga Stars kufanya vizuri ::: Wataka madini kuwa mali ya vijiji vyenye migodi ::: Kampuni rafiki ya kukusanya madeni sugu yatinga Dar ::: Tume ya Moi yakabidhi ripoti kwa waziri ::: Katakata ya Dawasco yapingwa Kawe ::: Vodacom yatoa milioni 75/- kwa barabara Dodoma ::: Maofisa waandamizi Polisi kukutana Dodoma leo ::: Waziri ataka mshahara wa chini ujadiliwe upya ::: Biashara ya binadamu yashamiri nchini Na ::: ‘Waathirika wengi wa Ukimwi wana maradhi ya vinywa’ ::: Diwani aomba uchunguzi kama makaburi yamejaa ::: Klabu kumchukulia hatua mwandishi aliyeandika uongo ::: Tutaajiri kocha kwa uwezo wa klabu- Dalali ::: Ataka wanasiasa wawaadhibu watendaji wanaoshindwa wajibu ::: Watanzania watakiwa kuhifadhi utamaduni ::: :: Maskani>habari

Habari za Kitaifa Habari nyingine zaidi! Serikali yaokoa mahujaji Waandishi Wetu HabariLeo; Wednesday,December 12, 2007 SERIKALI jana iliwaokoa mahujaji zaidi ya 1,150 waliokuwa wamekwama Dar es Salaam kwenda Makka na Madina, Saudi Arabia, baada ya kuwakodia ndege kwa ajili ya kwenda huko kuhudhuria ibada hiyo muhimu katika dini ya Kiislamu. Hatua hiyo ilikuja baada ya mahujaji hao, wengi wao wakiwa ni Watanzania na wengine kutoka Comoro na Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasi ya Kongo (DRC), kukwama Dar es Salaam kwa zaidi ya siku 10, baada ya Shirika la Ndege la Tanzania (ATC), kushindwa kupata ndege ya kuwasafirisha kama ambavyo walikubaliana baada ya kulipa dola za Marekani 2,400 (takriban Sh milioni tatu). Awali ndege ya kwanza ya kukodi ya ATC ilitarajiwa kuondoka Dar es Salaam Desemba 3, mwaka huu, lakini ndege hiyo aina ya Boeing 747-200 kutoka Uarabuni, haikuweza kuruka kutokana na hitilafu, na kuanzia siku hiyo zimekuwapo taarifa za kuchanganya kuhusu safari hiyo. Kufikia saa 12:15 jioni, kundi la kwanza la mahujaji 379, lilitakiwa kuingia ndani ya sehemu ya kukaguliwa tayari kwa safari ya Makka ambayo leo usiku ndiyo siku ya mwisho ya kuingia katika miji hiyo mitakatifu kwa ajili ya ibada hiyo ambayo ni nguzo ya tano katika dini ya Kiislamu. Ndege aina ya DC 10, ilikuwa imetua uwanjani hapo tayari kuwachukua mahujaji hao. Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Dar es Salaam, Abbas Kandoro, ndiye aliyewatangazia mahujaji hao kwenye Uwanja wa Ndege wa Kimataifa wa Julius Nyerere, kuwa safari hiyo ipo, baada ya awali asubuhi kuwaeleza kuwa serikali ipo pamoja nao, na aliwahakikishia itafanya kila linalowezekana kuhakikisha haiwaangushi. Akifuatana na Mwenyekiti wa Bodi ya ATC, Balozi Mustafa Nyang’anyi, Mkurugenzi Mkuu wa ATC, David Mattaka na Sheikh Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Lindi na Mjumbe wa Baraza la Ulamaa la Baraza Kuu la Waislamu Tanzania, Sheikh Suleiman Gorogosi, Kandoro alisema mahujaji hao wote wataondoka, hata kama siyo wote kwa jana usiku. “Kundi la kwanza litaondoka sasa (saa 12 jioni) na jingine litaondoka kwa ndege itakayokuja baadaye. Hata kama ndege nyingine haitakuja, ndege hii inayoondoka sasa itakwenda na kurudi kwa sababu marubani tumewapanga kwa makundi. Kwa hiyo hakuna atakayebaki hapa,” alisema Kandoro. Alisema serikali haikuingia awali katika mgogoro huo wa ATC na mawakala wa mahujaji hao, kwa sababu walifahamu suala hilo lingemalizwa kati yao, na ndiyo maana iliamua kuingilia kati baada ya kuona tatizo hilo linashindwa kupata ufumbuzi. Kandoro alitangaza utaratibu huo muda mchache kabla ya Waziri Mkuu, Edward Lowassa, kufika uwanjani hapo kuagana na mahujaji hao na kuwatakia safari njema. Awali, juzi kulikuwapo na kikao kirefu kati ya viongozi wa ATC na wawakilishi wa mahujaji, na baada ya kikao hicho, mahujaji waliarifiwa kuwa kundi la kwanza la mahujaji hao lingeondoka jana na ndege aina ya TC- 8000 ambayo ilitarajiwa kufika majira ya saa 3:30 asubuhi na kuondoka jana majira ya saa 5:00 asubuhi. Lakini mpaka kufikia saa 9:00 alasiri, hakuna ndege yoyote iliwasili. Waziri wa Miundombinu, Andrew Chenge, ambaye ATC iko chini ya Wizara yake, alifika uwanja wa ndege jana asubuhi, lakini hakuzungumza lolote kuhusiana na suala hilo, ingawa taarifa zilieleza kwamba ndiye aliyekuwa akihangaika kuhakikisha mahujaji hao wanaondoka jana usiku. Hata hivyo, jana saa nne asubuhi, mahujaji walifanya mkutano na kuamua kwamba endapo hawatasafiri kwa jana hiyo wangefanya maandamano makubwa ya kupinga na kulaani kitendo hicho. “Tutaandamana ili kukomesha taratibu zote za uongo na tunataka iwe funzo, wajue kuwa tumeumia na tunapinga kitendo hicho”, alisema Seif Llah, mmoja kati ya viongozi watatu wanaowakilisha makundi yote ya mahujaji, walioteuliwa juzi usiku baada ya mahujaji kukosa imani na viongozi wao waliokuwamo kwenye mkutano na viongozi wa ATC pamoja na serikali. Katika hatua nyingine, mahujaji hao waliochelewa kwenda Makka na Madina, wana haki ya kuidai ATC fidia isiyozidi dola 5,000 za Marekani kila mmoja kwa kucheleweshewa safari yao. Makamu Mwenyekiti wa Baraza la Watumiaji wa Huduma za Usafiri wa Anga, Mustapha Akonay, alilieleza gazeti hili Dar es Salaam jana kuwa hata kama wamesafiri, walicheleweshwa, hivyo wana haki ya kudai fidia hiyo. Akonay alisema kwa kuwa mahujaji walikuwa wanakwenda nje ya nchi, Mkataba wa Montreal wa mwaka 1999 ulioridhiwa na Serikali ya Tanzania, Februari 2003 unawatambua kuwa ni abiria wa kimataifa, hivyo wana haki kisheria kudai fidia hiyo kwa mujibu wa kifungu cha 19 cha mkataba huo. Katibu wa baraza hilo, Hamza Johari, alisema jana kuwa, hakuna muda maalumu kwa watumiaji wa huduma za usafiri wa anga kudai fidia hivyo wanaweza kudai fidia wakirudi. Alisema mahujaji wakihitaji kulipwa fidia watapaswa kuidai ATC moja kwa moja na wawasilishe nakala za madai yao katika baraza ili liwe na taarifa za kuwapo kwa madai hayo. Kwa mujibu wa taratibu, anayedai fidia anapaswa kuwasilisha madai kwa maandishi, waeleze kilichotokea, waeleze mdaiwa afanye nini sambamba na kutaja kiasi cha fidia anachotarajia kulipwa. Akonay alisema baraza limewasiliana na uongozi wa juu wa ATC hivyo wanasubiri maelezo ya shirika hilo kuhusu namna walivyoshughulikia tatizo hilo. Kwa mujibu wa Akonay, Jumatatu mchana alimpigia simu Ofisa Mtendaji Mkuu wa ATC, David Mattaka, kumuuliza kuwa shirika linafanya nini kutatua tatizo hilo. “Yeye alisema tunashughulikia, tutawajulisha matokeo,” alisema Akonay. Copyright @TSN 2006 All Rights Reserved