At the Consultative Group Meeting between government and the donors held in Dar es Salaam (unusually, as such meetings are normally held in Paris) starting on December 10th donors pledged $1.0 billion to Tanzania for the year 1998. Several donors said that they would contribute to a fund to help Tanzania reduce its $8.1 billion debt, about half of which was multilateral. The entire cabinet answered questions from the delegates.

Responding to continued concerns amongst donors about corruption, President Mkapa told the 200 delegates “My war against corruption is not restricted within the covers of the Warioba Report; (outlined in earlier issues of TA) anyone else (in addition to those mentioned in the report as possible culprits) against whom sufficient evidence that can stand in court is established, will be sent to court. And that is official. Corruption will be made a high-risk low-profit endeavour” he said. Cases were difficult to prove in court and that was why he had used his powers to retire public servants in the public interest. “They are powers that I have used extensively and will continue to use.. . .We have to build a consensus with donor countries on ways to criminalise corruption in international tendering where the really big money is. Such corruption should be a criminal offence in donor countries as it is in Tanzania” he said.

The Daily News reported on December 17″ that during the last 7 years (1991 to May 1997) 522 police had been fired for corruption including 176 during the period from January to May 1997. Police Inspector General Omar Mahita said that a Criminal Intelligence Unit had been set up to coordinate swift arrest of suspects.