Two factions within the ruling party
Following the revelation of differences between the leaders of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Party, its National Executive Committee (NEC) set up a group of ‘three wise men’ under the leadership of former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi to try and resolve the differences (TA No 95).

However, when the group reported in mid-February it said that it had failed to reconcile the two factions and the rift between them could not be bridged. Both sides had said that the problem was ‘not personal’ and so could not be resolved by a mere handshake. The NEC eventually decided to give the Mwinyi Committee two more months to continue with its efforts at reconciliation.

The nature of the rift
This whole saga is complicated and it is difficult to define the precise nature of the rift, but the media seem to be agreed that much of the dispute centres on what action should be taken against those found guilty of corruption (described in many previous issues of TA).

The first of the two camps is said to be led by former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa who resigned some time ago following a parliamentary investigation into the Richmond scandal (see below). The second faction is led by National Assembly Speaker Samuel Sitta who wants a much tougher line on punishing those found guilty of corruption.

When the Assembly came to discuss the Richmond case in February, its Standing Committee for Energy and Minerals caused some surprise when it recommended that, as Lowassa had resigned from his position as Prime Minister, there was no need to take any further action against him. Some members of the NEC were far from satisfied with this recommendation, saying the corrupt elements had been let off the hook.

The crucial NEC meeting at which the Mwinyi Committee’s report was discussed went on for longer than expected and President Kikwete, who was supposed to leave for a State visit to Turkey, had to postpone his departure until the next day.

CCM Party Vice-Chairman Pius Msekwa, a member of the Mwinyi Committee, revealed to the press that the NEC had had at one stage to resort to religious scriptures. He said that while he quoted the Bible, Chairman Mwinyi quoted the Koran.

Msekwa felt that, as Lowassa had taken the political decision to resign as Prime Minister, the matter should rest there. He said: “Our party has 4.6 million members. Most of them are not even aware of the ongoing debate among a handful of leaders. How can the party disintegrate?” he asked.

Meanwhile, as an indication of the extent to which CCM differences have spread around the country, during a visit to the
Tabora region by Prime Minster Pinda, scuffles broke out between supporters of the two factions and it soon became apparent to which faction several local MP’s belonged. The Prime Minster finally decided not to allow any further comments or questions from the public.

A new party
While all this was going on, a new political party suddenly arose, called Chama cha Jamii (CCJ). It claimed that it comprised members of the CCM, though at the launch no high ranking MPs confirmed membership. The official launch of the party on March 2 was not a great a success, with no international diplomats and only a small crowd of Tanzanians present.

However, as this issue went to the press, the dramatic news came of the defection of CCM legislator and frontline anti-corruption crusader Fred Mpendazoe Tungu to the new party. Announcing his defection at a well-attended news conference, Mpendazoe (as he is commonly referred to as) repeated charges that the ruling party had sidelined and abandoned the majority poor Tanzanians and embraced the wealthy minority. He suggested most CCM politicians had their eyes focused on personal interests rather than the interest of wananchi (citizens).

The opposition
Both main opposition parties have begun campaigning although they are not supposed to do so until the election date is officially announced.

President Kikwete greets Seif Shariff Hamad on the occasion of the funeral of Ambassador Daudi Mwakawago in Dar-es-Salaam, In the background is former president Mkapa. Photo Mjengwa

Civic United Front (CUF) Chairman Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba, who stood unsuccessfully for the presidency in the last three elections, revealed that he was still wishing for a meeting with President Kikwete to expound several issues including the election laws, amending the country’s constitution, restructuring the National Electoral Commission and the determination of the country’s development vision. “Since President Kikwete was elected to the topmost political office in 2005, I have never met him in a one-to-one encounter” he said.

CHADEMA leader Freeman Mbowe, who stood unsuccessfully for the presidency in the 2005 elections, has decided that in 2010 he will try to capture the Hai, Moshi parliamentary seat from the CCM and will not try for the presidency. He was campaigning in Dodoma as this issue of TA went to press. He promised that a strong candidate would be chosen. Zitto Kabwe, the young, ambitious and very popular CHADEMA MP for Kigoma, is also looking for a new constituency following boundary changes. Five constituencies around the country have invited him to stand.

Who will be standing?
Normally there would be no shortage of candidates for the post of President of Tanzania and in the CCM it has become the tradition to re-elect a first-term president as candidate without opposition. President Kikwete is expected to win whether there is or is not another candidate. So far, only one candidate, John Shibuda MP has declared his intention to challenge him.

CUF’s Professor Lipumba, has not declared what he will do.
In Zanzibar, with President Karume not allowed to stand for a third term, there is no shortage of CCM party members who might want to succeed him. Maalim Seif is expected to be the CUF candidate and two small parties, TADEA and NLD, have said that they would also be fielding candidates.

Election timetable
Nomination forms for CCM presidential candidates will be issued on 1 July this year, while forms for parliamentary candidates will be issued on 26 July.

Monitoring the elections
The Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) has started working on the modalities of media monitoring. Executive Director Kajubi Mukajanga, said that, as the country heads towards general elections, the media regulator had the right to monitor stories published or broadcast during the election. He said the idea was to monitor the campaign and actual polling to make sure irregularities are spotted in time and the involved media house is notified. “We shall be issuing weekly reports on the election as we approach election time, and political fever rises” he added. The MCT will be looking at the language used by the media, ensuring balance in articles and that all aspirants get equal air time during the campaign.

(Much of the above election news comes from the information and views being provided, on a daily basis, in the numerous Swahili and English language newspapers in Tanzania. This illustrates once again the remarkable freedom of expression now considered normal in Tanzania and the enthusiasm of the electorate for the coming struggle – Editor).

A private motion was first presented by CUF leader in the House Abubakar Khamis Bakary (CUF) and debated for two days before it was passed. The government was asked to prepare necessary changes in the Zanzibar constitution to allow for the formation of a government of national unity. CCM’s representatives were at first hesitant but later came round and supported the preparation of a Bill.

Similarly, on January 28, CUF, which had been opposed to the idea of holding a referendum as proposed by CCM, changed its mind.

The proposed Bill would therefore provide for a referendum to be held, probably before the next elections, on whether to go ahead with plans for a ‘government of national unity.’

The exact form of this government of ‘national unity’ was the subject of further debate. It could mean a ‘coalition’ or some other form of co-operation between MP’s. Leaders of smaller parties, which have no MP’s in the Zanzibar House, complained about being excluded.

CCM’s National Executive Committee (NEC) seemed to indicate that it would like to avoid such words as ‘coalition’ and ‘government of national unity’ in the proposed Bill. Instead it talked instead of an ‘inclusive government.’ One MP said that this meant that the government would co-opt members from opposition parties that gained more than 10% of the votes in an election.

No time to lose
The pace quickened. Zanzibar Attorney General Idd Hassan Pandu expressed confidence that by July 2010 the structure of a coalition government would be known. While being interviewed on TBC he said: “My office has already received a draft for the coalition, but the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) will have to conduct a referendum and declare the result within three months.”

Maalim Seif falls ill

Maalim Seif Shariff Hamad in Shree Hindu Mandal Hospital. Picture Khalfan Said

As the debate continued on these issues, there was concern when one of the two architects of the reconciliation between the two main parties, CUF Secretary General Seif Shariff Hamad (or Maalim Seif as he is best known in Zanzibar) – the other architect is Zanzibar President Amani Karume – was suddenly taken ill at the International Airport in Dar while waiting for a connecting flight to Oman. However, the problem was soon diagnosed as bronchitis and he went back to work shortly afterwards.

Registration of voters
Just before this, Hamad had had his third meeting with President Karume on the registration of voters which had been going very slowly in Zanzibar and had been a serious bone of contention between the parties following allegations that the 2000 and 2005 elections had been fixed in favour of the ruling party – Guardian.

Secret revealed
During an interview with the Guardian on Sunday, CUF National Chairman Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba revealed what happened before the historic reconciliation meeting between the CCM and CUF leaders in November 2009 which had caused so much surprise at the time.
Extracts: ‘After years of hostility between the two parties, it was the friendship between two politicians, CCM stalwart Hassan Nassor Moyo and the CUF founder Secretary General, Shaaban Khamis Mloo, that led the way to the accord…. It might not have happened had it not been for this friendship… the process started from March 15, 2009 when Mloo died. “From the cemetery after the burial, we all went to his home, where Mzee Moyo looked agonised at the departure of his companion, and wondered aloud why political rivalry should continue in the Isles….We witnessed how gravely pained the old man was, and decided that something should be done… it was from then that the roadmap to the ‘maridhiano’ as the accord is now known, was crafted”…. Mzee Mloo had been a staunch CCM member, holding many high offices before the introduction of political pluralism in 1992 when he was one of the pioneer leaders of the opposition….the friendship between Moyo and Mloo was not affected by their political differences. … Taking the cue from Mzee Moyo, one of the pioneers of the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution and a member of the Zanzibar Revolutionary Council from its inception, the rival parties realised that it was pointless to continue to stoke the fires of rivalry and to opt instead for reconciliation.’

Money recovered
Minister of Finance Mustafa Mkulo has announced that the government has recovered Shs 72 billion ($53 million) from the Shs 133 billion (98.5 billion) of the Bank of Tanzania’s External Payments Arrears account which was misappropriated.

Air Traffic Control System – RADAR
In the very long running Air Traffic Control System (Radar) case, (see earlier issues of TA) dramatic news came from the UK’s Senior Fraud Office (SFO) in January when Britain’s BAE Systems finally accepted responsibility in several corruption cases around the world including the one in Tanzania. It agreed to pay penalties in the US and the UK totaling several hundred million dollars to settle the cases against it.

Under the deal, BAE will pay $400m (£255m) in the US and $47m (£30m) in the UK, the latter being a penalty for over-pricing the cost of the air traffic control system it sold to Tanzania several years ago. Leading up to the deal, the SFO had named Minister Andrew Chenge, businessmen Sailesh Vithlani and Tanil Somaiya, and former Governor of the Central Bank of Tanzania, Dr Idris Rashid as the key suspects. SFO investigators established that BAE Systems had secretly paid a $12m commission into the Swiss bank account of Sailesh Vithlani who was alleged to be the ‘middleman’.

According to details from the SFO’s investigation, the actual price of the military radar system sold to Tanzania was far less than the money paid by Tanzania which had to borrow from Barclays Bank to help it to pay. Under the new deal between the SFO and BAE Systems Tanzania will get a refund of some $28 million.

Legal issues
Before Tanzania can receive the money however, a number of legal issues have to be dealt with. According to ‘Africa Confidential’, British lobbyists ‘Corner House’ obtained an injunction on March 3 to freeze BAE’s plea-bargain deal with the SFO pending a decision on whether there should be a full judicial review. Africa Confidential reported that, if the deal were blocked, the SFO would probably proceed with a corruption case against BAE on some of its other contracts, followed by a prosecution over its contract for the air traffic control system in Tanzania.

The SFO had earlier indicated that some of the cash would become ‘an ex gratia payment for the benefit of the people of Tanzania’.
However, BAE was insisting that it would not pay the money to the government but that it would be given instead to local charities dealing with humanitarian aid in Tanzania. In Tanzania, Minister for Foreign Affairs Bernard Membe insisted that the compensation should be paid to the government.

Some legal are said to believe that BAE may be anxious to avoid any legal implications that might arise if Tanzania finally chose to arrest and prosecute the key suspects. By paying the billions to charity organisations, it would appear that the donation would be part of the company’s ‘corporate social responsibility’ funding.

Suzan Hawley of ‘Corruption Watch’, a UK based anti-corruption watchdog was quoted as saying that “This is a trick chosen by BAE to avoid being implicated directly by a third party, but it’s an old style that won’t get them off the hook.”

‘Corruption Watch has filed an application at a UK court seeking a review of the SFO and BAE settlement.

Director of Tanzania’s Prevention of Corruption Bureau Edward Hoseah has written to the SFO welcoming the promised payment and suggesting procedures to ensure that the repatriation of the funds would be done transparently.

It is understood that BAE’s plea-bargain deal in Britain would has no automatic effect on the Tanzanian government’s own investigations. These are continuing – (from the Guardian on Sunday, Nipashe various British and Tanzanian newspapers and other sources – Editor)

“We need a reaction” US Ambassador
In early March US ambassador to Tanzania Alfonso Lenhardt began to throw his weight behind the crusade against corruption when he challenged the government to step it up by ensuring that suspected or proven corrupt leaders are prosecuted. “For the monster of grand corruption to be eliminated”, he said “strong deterrent signals are required, including jail sentences for leaders found guilty along with confiscation of their ill-gotten wealth. Indeed, the government should not continue to beat around the bush on matters that are before the eyes of the public; we need a reaction and a system that will throw corrupt senior civil servants and politicians where they belong – behind bars.” The ambassador went on to say that it was heartening to note that there were already encouraging steps being taken to tackle corruption, “but more needs to be done” he said. “The vast majority of Tanzanians did not like to see leaders implicated in serious graft scandals being left scot-free, untouchable and unaccountable….studies conducted across the world have shown that bribery, fraud, favouritism, and cronyism all breed and deepen poverty in the society. That is why countries like Tanzania remained poor as their otherwise rich development resources were daily depleted through such corrupt practices

The Richmond Case
Investigations into the complicated Richmond electricity generation case (see earlier issues of TA) are continuing. According to Tanzania Daima, the company which took over from Richmond after it withdrew – Dowans – is understood to be indebted to the tune of $ 2.4 million for breach of the contract it entered into with the Ministry of Energy and Minerals and which it had inherited from Richmond. Dowans apparently wanted to sell the generating plant it had constructed in Dar es Salaam but it was stopped by the court. The government is now demanding a penalty for failing to supply Tanzania with power.

The political implications
As indicate above, the Richmond scandal is now having repercussions on the political scene. The investigative journal ‘This Day’ has been looking into the matter. Extracts: ‘Whatever happens in the upcoming months of election year 2010, history will always show that prior to the Richmond affair, National Assembly Speaker Samuel Sitta and former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa were close political allies and both were key members of the powerful campaign machinery that delivered a landslide victory for President Jakaya Kikwete in 2005…it is because of this, that the new stand-off between the two (see above) is proving so damaging to the ruling CCM party’s aspirations to stay united…. Following the 2005 general election, Lowassa and other members of the pro-Kikwete campaign lobby better known as Mtandao (the network) backed Sitta’s candidature for the position of Speaker and, thanks in large part to active campaigning by senior Mtandao members, Sitta eventually won the speaker’s position by defeating the incumbent speaker, Pius Msekwa, in a tough contest. In December 2005 Lowassa was endorsed by parliament as Prime Minister….But then came the Richmond scandal. By 2008, Lowassa and Sitta were at loggerheads over the manner in which parliament – with Sitta’s backing – was handling the Richmond case as it grew in seriousness…. It was Lowassa who had supervised the process that led to the awarding of the dubious government power generation contract Richmond against expert opinion. TANESCO had reluctantly signed the contract with Richmond at night at the headquarters of the Ministry of Energy and Minerals….Richmond did not perform and a parliamentary team delivered a damning report on the deal which implicated Lowassa and others who promptly tendered their resignations.

The ‘Mramba’ case
The case of former Finance Minister Basil Mramba, and his counterpart Daniel Yona (following three years of investigations by the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau and the police into the suspicious hiring of Alex Stewart Corporation to audit gold production in Tanzania) has been adjourned again because the magistrate was away. The hearing of the case started in November 2009. Four prosecution witnesses have so far testified.

Repossession of idle land
The government has initiated a countrywide move to revoke title deeds of idle land neglected by proprietors for more than twenty years. Some 115 plots totalling 177,000 hectares in Morogoro Region alone are to be repossessed.

According to the Daily News, 115 plots totalling 177,000 hectares have been identified in Morogoro Region alone and will soon be repossessed by the government. Funds are being allocated to facilitate surveys of other identified idle land ready for development in Manyara and Tanga Regions.

More engineers to be trained

Prime Minister Pinda test drives a tractor

Prime Minister, Mizengo Pinda said shortage of qualified irrigation engineers is holding back government efforts to boost agriculture. “We are facing a significant shortage of irrigation and related field engineers to serve in agriculture and irrigation schemes,” Pinda said.

The Guardian reported that the population of approaching 40 million people, 80 per cent of them farmers, was facing a shortage of over 250 irrigation engineers and 1,300 technicians in the irrigation field. Tanzania, with more than 44 million hectares of agricultural land, three of the largest 10 lakes in the world and a large network of rivers, uses less than one per cent of its arable land for Irrigation.

High quality cassava flour
Furthering the objectives of Kilimo Kwanza, a $4.5 million project funded by the Common Fund for Commodities, which will be implemented by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, is being launched. The aim is to raise the profile of cassava, in the form of high quality cassava flour, so as to make the crop a profitable and stainable source of income – The East African

President Karume (left) and Seif Shariff Hamad. Photo Ramadhan Othman Ikulu

There was considerable excitement in Zanzibar on November 5 2009 when it was revealed that the Secretary General of the leading opposition party (the Civic United Front – CUF) Seif Shariff Hamad, whose party won all the elected posts in Pemba in the 2005 elections, had met for two hours President Amani Karume of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, behind closed doors. It was the first visit Hamad had paid to Karume since he had refused to recognise him as the islands’ President after the controversial elections in 2005.

A State House press release said that the two leaders had discussed various matters including the need to ‘maintain peace, tranquility, tolerance and cooperation among all people in the islands’. They also agreed on the need for ‘sustainable negotiations’ between them and their parties.

Hostility at Unguja meeting
Shortly afterwards, on November 7, Hamad had to face an angry crowd of his supporters at a rally in Unguja (the main island) when he revealed that his party now recognised the President. As thousands of people started shouting and milling around the podium, CUF Party (national) Chairman Professor Ibrahim Lipumba took to the podium and tried in vain to calm the crowd. Some of them were heard shouting: “You have betrayed us”.

Lipumba said that the matter would next be discussed in party sittings so as to get members’ views. “If they think we betrayed them, we are prepared to be accountable. Maalim Seif (the name by which Hamad is best known in Zanzibar) has been committed to CUF ever since he left the CCM” Lipumba said. According to the Swahili press, which gave substantial coverage to the event, Lipumba pleaded with the crowd but eventually the rally had to be called off and the leaders were driven off through a narrow alley under tight security.

Addressing a rally later in Tanga, Lipumba urged members all over the country to calm down. He said he was aware that members, especially in Zanzibar, were annoyed by the meeting but he assured them that Hamad would never betray them. “I hear some people accuse him of being bribed. This is rubbish for a person like Hamad who has devoted his life to the CUF party and even spent three years in detention. How can such a man be a sell-out?”

Warmer reception in Pemba
Addressing rallies in Pemba, a few days alter, Hamad received a warmer reception. “We took time to ponder with Karume where we were heading” he said “and we came to the conclusion that we had fought one another for far too long.”

Subsequently, CCM leaders, especially those from the Mainland, were asked to keep out of the reconciliation process which had been initiated by Zanzibaris. CUF Director of Foreign Affairs Ismail Jussa told The Citizen that CCM leaders should remain on the sidelines “because they don’t know what is going on.”

Meanwhile, speculation continued as to whether the two leaders had agreed on anything else, particularly on the possibility of power sharing in government.

It wasn’t until November 15 that President Karume finally commented, although the press wanted to know more than he gave them. He said that no eligible voter would be left out in the registration of voters for the 2010 elections. He made the remarks at a time when hundreds of CUF supporters in Pemba were claiming that they had been denied registration for the next elections because they did not hold residency identity cards.

The President, who will not be seeking election again after two terms, added that “We want both the winners and losers to accept the results. This is possible only if the elections are free and fair.” In another development, the President said he would now appoint two CUF members to the House of Representatives in accordance with previous agreements.

“We weren’t supervised by whites”
CUF Deputy Secretary General Juma Duni Haji told reporters that the talks between Seif Shariff Hamad and President Karume were held in secret so as to avoid ‘interference’ by people with ulterior motives. He said the previous ‘Muafaka’ (agreements) had failed, partly because they were sponsored by the donor community. Hamad said everything was now forgotten and forgiven. “Countries like Kenya and Zimbabwe resolved their differences with the help of outsiders but in Zanzibar that was not the case. It is better for locals themselves to resolve their problems with home-grown solutions. That is why, in our case, no white man supervised us.” – Nipashe.

Some uncertainty remains
Although the two parties were showered with praise by all parties in Tanzania and from many in the international community, some doubts were still being expressed as to whether the agreement would stick and, in particular, whether it might lead on to power sharing. Professor Lipumba said they were not sure as everything had been done orally. “It is a political risk we took, so I can’t guarantee that everything will turn out the way we expected.”

Then two Zanzibar government ministers spoke against the idea of a coalition government and power sharing. Deputy Chief Minister Ali Juma Shamhuna and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Union Affairs) Mohammed Seif Khatib, differed with President Karume who had said that the issue of power sharing would have to be decided by the people. Minister Shamhuna said that Zanzibar did not need power sharing or a government of national unity. What was needed was for the parties to accept the election results. Minister Khatib told a rally in Pemba that national unity did not necessarily mean co-opting another party into the government. “CCM alone is capable of bringing about unity as that is its policy,” he declared – Mwananchi.

The freedom with which the press and the people are now able to express themselves in Tanzania, particularly on the issue of corruption, has provided ammunition for those keen to see the end of what some consider to be a continuation of ‘one party’ government. The opposition parties never cease to attack the government on the corruption issue and, judging by recent by-election results, they are increasing in popularity in certain parts of the country. The seriousness of the situation for CCM was illustrated at acrimonious meetings of the party’s Central and Executive Committees in August last year when there were accusations that the leadership was trying to ‘gag’ its own MPs. Several of the more outspoken CCM MP’s warned the party on the dangers if vigorous action was not taken against the many leading figures in the country now being charged in court on corruption charges.

Former Prime Ministers join in
Critical remarks by two former prime ministers, Joseph Warioba and Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, supported by Nyerere Foundation Director Joseph Butiku, seem to have exacerbated the situation. Opposition CHADEMA Secretary General, Wilbroad Slaa lauded the ex-premiers for having the ‘courage’ to speak out. CUF Chairman Lipumba said they had donned the mantle of Mwalimu Nyerere who was being sorely missed by the country – Mwananchi.

Anti-sleaze MPs on war footing
At a rally in which some of the CCM MP’s, known as ‘crusaders against corruption’ said they had decided to hold joint rallies in their constituencies so as to educate the masses on the plot by ‘corrupt politicians’ to unseat them by pouring in ‘dirty money.’ They included Dr Harrison Mwakyembe (MP for Kyela) author of the highly critical report on the Richmond scandal – see below. They claimed their rivals in CCM were spending Shs 400 million in each constituency in efforts to defeat them at the next elections in 2010 – Tanzania Daima.

A Committee of three ‘wise men’ set up
In reaction, the party quickly took the decision to set up a committee of three ‘wise men’ to oversea the restoration of party unity and to fix the party’s growing image problem.
According to the investigative newspaper This Day, the committee, comprising ex-President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, ex-Parliamentary Speaker Pius Msekwa, and former Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly Abdulrahman Kinana had, as its primary task, to seek ways of healing what was described as the deep rift between a growing number of CCM MP’s and the central party establishment. The party was said to have ‘become beholden to a few rich individuals’ and the CCM secretariat had ‘even failed to meet regularly with the MPs to listen to their views.’

Political analysts were quoted in the paper as saying that many incumbent CCM MPs were choosing to become vocal about corruption for fear of being regarded by their constituencies as being part of the problem. The paper went on: ‘The National Executive Committee meeting had been virtually dominated by a brazenly overt…. campaign from within, to unseat the incumbent Speaker of the National Assembly, Samwel Sitta, who had made clear his own strong aversion to the ‘grand corruption vice.’ Political observers were quoted as saying that if allowed to escalate, the fall-out from the meeting might eventually lead to a complete disintegration of CCM as the country’s most powerful political party.

By November, the meetings of the three wise men were being described in the Swahili press as having become ‘fiery’ with divisions between the reformist and conservative camps becoming obvious. While the latter defended former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa who had had to resign following revelations about the Richmond corruption case (see below), and his supporters, the former called for their expulsion from the party. One meeting was said to have started at 8 pm and ended at 1.30 am. Some were calling for the resignation of CCM Secretary General Yusuf Makamba who was said to have left one meeting when the exchanges ‘became too hot for his hypertension.’

The media indicated that the tug-of-war seemed to be led by Speaker Samuel Sitta and prominent businessman Reginald Mengi from the reformist camp while Edward Lowassa and CCM Secretary General Yusuf Makamba lead the conservative side. Former President Mwinyi told TA that his three-man committee had encouraged the different groups to express their views freely to each other so that issues could be brought into the open. He intended to complete his report during the month of December.

Main opposition party also divided
All is not well in the main opposition party on the mainland, CHADEMA. During a Central Committee meeting attended by some 600 delegates, prominent MP Zitto Kabwe, Deputy Secretary General, (who has much support among younger party members) and is clearly ambitious, was apparently dissuaded from trying to unseat Freeman Mbowe as Party Chairman, only by the intervention of party elders including the founder of the party, one time Finance Minister Edwin Mtei.
According to numerous reports in the Swahili press, the elders knew that a tug-of-war for chairmanship between Kabwe and Mbowe would not be good for the party. Apparently, they suggested that Kabwe should instead be offered the post of Secretary General but he was said to have rejected the proposal outright, and proposed instead that both he and Mbowe should pull out and that present Secretary General Dr. Wilbroad Slaa should become chairman instead. Kabwe denied that the struggle was ideological, with him on the left and Mbowe on the right.

In elections in September for CHADEMA young peoples’ and women’s groups differences continued between young and older members of the party and the elections had to be postponed until later. Slaa complained that these party elections had already cost Shs 50 million which was enough to build a dispensary. “Our party just can’t afford this kind of expenditure” he said.

At the meeting, mother of Kabwe, Shida Salum, was quoted in virtually all the Swahili press, as standing up to defend her son, accusing some leaders of being corrupt. “I know Zitto. He is not on sale and can’t be bought,” she said.
Veteran former leader Edwin Mtei was said to have pointed out that Zitto Kabwe was still young and so would be in a good position to vie for the party chairmanship in 2015 or 2020. When asked if he intended to run for the presidency in 2015 Kabwe said that by then he would still be below the statutory age of 40 required by the constitution.
Another row erupted later when Dr Slaa terminated two party officials said to be close to Kabwe. Both then resigned from the party and one joined the small NCCR party.

When contacted about all this, Party Chairman Mbowe admitted that the party had problems but said that other parties were ‘down with cancer’ while for CHADEMA it was just a normal hiccup – Rai.

Kikwete – “578 Cases in court”
In a historic first ‘question and answer session’ broadcast live on all major television and radio networks on September 9, President Kikwete answered many questions, from around the country, on corruption. “We have taken steps and, as we speak, there are 578 corruption cases in the courts” he said. He added that the number was only 58 in 2005 when he had assumed power. He brushed off claims that his government was harbouring people suspected of grand corruption within the government and the ruling CCM party.

He also dismissed claims that the ruling party of which he was Chairman, was silencing MP’s who spoke out about corruption in the National Assembly. He also cited cases currently going on in various courts as well as senior public officials who were facing charges of abuse of office and embezzlement. He said that the respective anti-corruption agencies were finalising two or three cases involving high-profile personalities. “Our party would like MPs to speak out and assess their government” he said, “but that should be done in a way that protects the party’s interests too.”

Tanzania drops 24 places
A few days later, the international Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog ‘Transparency International (TI)’ released a report showing that Tanzania had dropped 24 places in the ‘Global Corruption Perception Index (CPI)’ from the 102nd position in 2008 to the 126th spot in 2009.

The CUF Leader in Parliament, Hamad Rashid Mohammed, said the Judiciary did not act fast to clear pending corruption cases, while the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) was dragging its feet in investigating allegations of grand corruption. Hamad told The Citizen that, although Parliament had been at the forefront in the fight against graft, many corruption scandals had been exposed but the Executive and Judiciary had so far done nothing.
Another government critic said that many corruption suspects were being acquitted because of the PCCB’s ‘shoddy investigations’ and its failure to effectively prosecute those charged with corruption.

The PCCB Public Relations Officer said she had not seen the TI report, but added that reports that Tanzania had fared better than other East African countries were ‘encouraging’. Rwanda had won accolades for wide-ranging steps to improve governance and gone up 14 positions to break into the top 100. Burundi, the worst performer in the region, was ranked 168th. Tanzania’s best ranking was 94 in 2007, when Parliament finally set up the PCCB.

The long-running Richmond saga (see earlier issues of TA)
The investigative newspaper ‘This Day’ revealed in October that, in addition to all the other irregularities, the controversial Richmond Development Company (which had later become Dowans Holdings), had tried to obtain more than $115 million from the government in 2006 for capacity and energy charges, under the later badly discredited emergency power supply contract it had signed. But, according to the paper, this represented a hefty profit as it had only spent $30m to install the planned 100-megawatt power plant in Dar es Salaam.

According to government sources quoted by the paper, Richmond/Dowans was subsequently paid more than $42m. The government had also paid $4,865 (approx. Shs 6bn/-) for airlifting some of the power generators, consumables, and other accessories from the United States. But, apparently, what the company brought in was only 20MW of power generating sets – one fifth of what was needed under the contract. This however, still represented a hefty profit for Richmond, considering that the company spent just $30 million to install the plant in Dar es Salaam.

Dowans Holdings apparently bought the remaining power generators from South Africa. But a government technical team sent to Cape Town in December 2006 to assess the trailer-mounted turbines, was said to have discovered that some of the equipment was rusty.

The formal termination of the contract between Richmond/Dowans and the government in 2009 paved the way for certain persons to set in motion yet another plan to obtain $69 million by selling the power generators to the government. It was only the fierce opposition to the proposal mounted by the parliamentary Energy and Minerals Committee and others, that blocked this from going ahead.

Towards the end of last year, while some MP’s were becoming increasingly restive as they waited to hear the government’s reactions to the numerous recommendations in the parliamentary report dated February 2007, the government announced that it intended to resurrect the company, as electricity supplies were again proving inadequate – The Guardian.

In October 2009, according to the Guardian, there was some surprise, amid escalating power rationing, that the government’s call for tenders for new emergency power generating plants failed to attract any competent bidders.

Government takes over and starts producing electricity
Eventually President Kikwete directed the appropriate ministers to take over the plant, which had been idle for several years, from its liquidators, to ease the crippling shortage of electricity.

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) then told the High Court that this decision was contrary to a court order that had placed the company under receivership and asked the court to halt the move as it would be unfair. The case was adjourned – Mwananchi.

During November the plant finally began producing electricity.

The Bank of Tanzania’s ‘Two Towers’ scandal

The Bank of Tanzania's two towers in Dar-es-Salaam

There are four cases of alleged corruption involving the Bank of Tanzania.
Prosecution in the first has been proceeding slowly. Former Bank Director of Personnel and Administration Amatus Liyumba, on trial for causing over Shs 221 billion loss to the government, told the court that the decision to revise the cost of building the bank’s headquarters was made by the Board of Directors and the Bank’s Governor, not him. Nothing could have been done without the approval of the Board. The prosecution charges that Mr Liyumba
and Mr Balali changed the scope and added extra works not covered in the contract, making the original tender cost
shoot up from $73 million to $357 million. The project involved building a 14 storey north tower at a cost of US$ 26 million and a south tower at US$ 29 miliion.

The ‘whistleblower’
In mid-November the Guardian on Sunday published a tribute to the person it described as the ‘whistleblower’ in the case who had, in April 2006, made the bold decision to go public. ‘Knowing that his decision, apart from costing him his job could also cost him his life, the man acted in the interest of his fellow countrymen.’

As expected, he lost his job and faced attacks from the Bank through a press release questioning his integrity as an engineer. The person concerned was reported now to consider himself lucky, because if he had approved the project, he would be spending his days and nights at the Keko Maximum Prison with his former boss Amatus Liyumba.’ He was transferred to Mwanza, where he spent two years more or less aimlessly. “They wanted to keep me away from HQ” he was quoted saying. “I feel so bad for being paid for doing nothing” he added. He was reported to be living happily in the outskirts of Dar es Salaam where he was running a construction firm to get by. “I would have made millions” he said.

Banknotes scandal
The Citizen reported in September that four senior employees of the Bank had been charged over the loss of Shs 104 billion, in yet another scandal involving the inflation of the cost of printing new bank notes.
The fourth scandal concerns the siphoning off, by some 22 companies, of Shs 133 billion through the Bank’s EPA account which has been described in detail in earlier issues of TA.

Gold auditing case
In this case, former senior cabinet ministers Basil Mramba and Daniel Yona (plus two other senior officials) have been charged with abuse of office that caused the Government a loss of over Shs 221 billion after granting tax waivers to a gold auditing firm, Alex Stewart (Assayers). The controversial assignment saw the company take $50 million in fees which sparked off a public outcry. Seventeen witnesses were being called to testify against the former ministers but the defence refused to reveal the names of their witnesses. The magistrates accepted this before the case was adjourned – Guardian.
The prosecution said, during the preliminary hearing, that Mramba signed government notices exempting the corporation from taxes in disregard of advice given by the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and had prepared an agreement between the company and the BoT which was amended without Attorney General and cabinet approval.

The Radar saga back in the limelight
Attention in the Radar case has switched to the UK where the Senior Fraud Office (SFO) has completed its enquiries and is asking the Attorney General to proceed with the prosecution of BAE which supplied the equipment. The Times of London wrote that if BAE would agree to pay up to £500 million (Tanzania is not the only country in which the company is accused of paying bribes) in a ‘plea bargain’ the problem could be resolved. But BAE felt that any admission of guilt would be unacceptable as it would undermine its huge markets in the USA and other countries. The paper said, that faced with the SFO’s ultimatum, it had decided to call the SFO’s bluff. It indicated that if the figure (for the Tanzania case) was in the range of £10-20 billion and that BAE would not be tainted with corruption and instead face lesser charges, negotiations might be renewed. However, the article went on to say that in dealing with Prime Minister Gordon Brown (and not Tony Blair) BAE would be likely to be rebuffed.

Progress in the investigations in Tanzania has been going slowly – the Director General of the PCCB was said to be waiting for the final report from the SFO in the UK. The key individuals being investigated by the PCCB include former Attorney General Andrew Chenge, former Bank of Tanzania Governor Idris Rashid, and prominent businessmen Tanil Somaia and Shailesh Vithlani. The local and foreign investigations forced Chenge to resign from the cabinet last year – Guardian.

MP’s allowances
As in Britain, allowances provided for MP’s, have become a cause of discord in Tanzania. Some MP’s are being accused of taking double payments from meetings they attend – Nipashe.
The opposition has said that the whole system is rotten and the PCCB has set in motion a number of investigations. It has been alleged that some corporations and government institutions have been paying Shs 200,000 daily to MP’s who also get parliamentary day allowances. House Speaker Samuel Sitta and others have been quoted in the Swahili press as justifying the allowances as ‘traditional Tanzanian hospitality’ and that the PCCB should not be investigating MP’s without consulting him.

Presidents Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania), Mwai Kibaki (Kenya) and Pierre Nkurunziza (Burundi) at the signing of the EAC Common Market Protocol. Picture Paul Sarwatt

East African Community (EAC) leaders formally agreed on November 20 to allow free trade, movement of people and right of residence in the region, with the signing of the protocol establishing a common market. This followed protracted negotiations between the five member states. All promised to arrange for ratification without delay. President Museveni of Uganda underlined the new found spirit of integration by inviting the other EAC members to become partners with Uganda in drilling for the oil that had been discovered there recently.

Government not opposed to solo candidates
Responding to growing public pressure for the Government to clear the way for individuals interested in running for office in forthcoming elections as independents, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Mathias Chikawe was quoted in The Citizen as saying that the Government was not opposed to the idea. It had appealed against a High Court ruling in favour of the recognition of the right of independent candidates. ”We have only gone to High Court to protect the Constitution……..If the court is allowed to force amendments in parts of the Constitution, who will stop it from calling for a repeal of the whole Constitution?” he asked. The Minister said the matter should be left to the Court of Appeal to rule.

CCM wins again in civic polls
Tanzania conducted nationwide elections for local councils in October but it has proved difficult for TA to obtain the detailed results. CCM claimed that it had won 98% of the seats.

There were minor incidents of violence. In Dar es Salaam, some contenders were seen distributing money. at polling stations. In Manyara region some polls had to be suspended after squabbles broke out among party supporters. In Bunda some 200 party members complained that they were stopped from voting on allegations that they were ‘illegal’ immigrants from Kenya.’ In Mbeya a CCM branch chairman was arrested on charges of assaulting a CUF candidate. In Ruvuma police had to intervene following a skirmish between CCM and CUF members fighting over a rally ground. In Tanga a CUF motorcade was pelted with stones – Nipashe,

Turnout was generally poor. In Dar es Salaam region only 26% of the eligible voters registered. CCM took 402 seats out of 446 in Dar, and in Morogoro 259 out of 274. But in the CHADEMA stronghold of Kigoma the opposition got 35 out of 68.

Zanzibar – Discord over voter registration in Pemba
Establishment of a new electoral register in the CUF stronghold of Pemba resulted in serious trouble after it was decided by the government that only those holding Zanzibar identity documents could register.

Among the incidents reported:
CUF complained that thousands of people had been refused ID’s. The ID Directors office was raided by a huge crowd of protesting people but the Director insisted that his office had exceeded its target for registering people and that more people than expected had been given ID cards.
Several people set on fire several houses in Wete district, mainly the property of CUF supporters. Scores of residents could be heard chanting pro-democracy slogans. Police arrested a number of people and took them away for questioning.
Seven people were arrested in different locations in Unguja, when they refused to obey police orders requiring them to disperse after being denied registration because they had no residents’ IDs.
In Pemba North, after CUF had called for registration to be stopped, some people resorted to witchcraft. They placed slaughtered chicken, rotten eggs and beehives at some centres. . Aome electric cables were cut. Several shehas (local officers) were assaulted with acid while their houses had been dynamited. ZEC offices were raided. Some 300 complaints came from several villages in Unguja North where people said that they had been denied Zanzibar ID’s on the grounds that they spent too much time at sea and in fishing camps.’

On September 18 CUF called for an investigation but this was turned down by the government which maintained that such action would slow down preparations for the elections. The Minister of State in the Chief Minister’s Office was quoted as saying that the government was not prepared to bow to CUF demands, taking into consideration that the majority of people did have IDs.

Following continued scuffles between people and the Police registration was suspended in mid-September.
The Chairman of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) said the trouble was costing the ZEC millions. The Director of the Zanzibar ID Department said those who claimed to have been denied the ID were liars. He said: “CUF is telling its members to hide their IDs and then complain.” CUF head of publicity, Salum Bimani said this was a plot by CCM and government to deny CUF members their voting rights – Habari Leo and most other papers. On September 28 CUF urged the ZEC to suspend the registration. The letter, copied to the UNDP, said CUF was withdrawing and “would not be responsible for any outcome.” The spokesperson for the ZEC said that, while registration was stalling in Pemba, ZEC had fulfilled its target in Unguja by 90 percent. He said the poor turnout in Pemba was due to the CUF boycott’ – Mwananchi.

Launching the programme on August 4th in Dodoma, the President urged the private sector to participate effectively in the implementation of his new ‘Agriculture First’ (Kilimo Kwanza) declaration. He pledged that his government would “engage the private sector in large-scale farming” in a bid to realise the declaration’s objectives and bring about a green revolution in the country. He said that the private sector had been the only missing link in past agricultural initiatives but it was critical in meeting the ‘Agriculture First’ goals.

However, probably mindful of the controversies which have occurred in other African countries like the Sudan, and especially Madagascar, where Saudi Arabian investors were offered a large tract of land for the growing of food crops and the government was then overthrown in a coup d’etat, he added that this did not imply that the agricultural sector’s policy as a whole would be overhauled. The crusade was aimed at injecting fresh vigour into the implementation of various agricultural projects. The President stressed the need to revive the government’s own plantations – some of which formed part of the ill-fated groundnut scheme in the 1950’s as one of the ways of improving agricultural production. “After reviving these plantations, we would like to offer them to the private sector so that they could run them effectively” he said.

Tanzania had 29 million hectares of land suitable for irrigation agriculture but the current data showed that only 400,000 hectares were under irrigation. Commenting on the use of seeds, the President said: “I have already ordered all departments in Prisons and JKT to research and come up with better seed varieties.” He complained that most Tanzanians did not use fertilizers – one of the reasons for poor performance.
Minister for Food and Agriculture Steven Wasira said that his ministry had embarked on a number of initiatives to establish a ‘farmer’s bank’ in collaboration with the government of China to provide capital to small farmers.

Priority in the budget
The government’s 2009/2010 budget reflected the Kilimo Kwanza programme with a 30% increase in expenditure on agriculture including compensation for losses incurred by crop buyers in the cotton sector. There would be exemption from VAT on processed locally grown tea and coffee and on heat-insulated milk cooling equipment as also on farm services – land preparation, cultivation, planting and harvesting. There are also specific budget allocations for the identification and surveying of land for large scale food crop farming. The government has increased subsidies on fertilizer from Shs 7bn in 2005 to Shs 118bn in 2009.