UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has commended Tanzania for its immense contribution to hosting refugees from the Great Lakes region.

President Kikwete and UN Secretary General Koffi Annan

During talks with President Kikwete at the seventh ordinary meeting of the African Union in the Gambia in August, Dr Annan said Tanzania should be considered ‘a donor country’. He said it was unfair for the UN to recognise countries that give material and moral support to refugees as the donors and forget the host countries. President Kikwete said that, although Tanzania had been hosting a number of refugees, its contribution had not been recognised by the UN as was the case with countries that give material support. “Hosting refugees is very risky because a country’s security is put in jeopardy and the adverse impact on the environment is likely to last long” he said.

The Zimbabwean Herald (July 3) reported that the UN would support efforts by former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa to mediate and mend relations between Zimbabwe and Britain. The paper went on: ‘Relations between Zimbabwe and Britain have been on ice since 2000 after Harare embarked on the land reform programme to correct historical imbalances caused by the colonial system in the ownership of land. Mr Annan told journalists at a Press conference that Comrade Mugabe had, during their meeting on the sidelines of the recent African Union Summit in the Gambia, told him that Mr Mkapa would mediate. Mr Annan said the UN would support his efforts and “we both agreed that he should be given the space and time he needs”. The British Government, despite a close relationship between Mkapa and Tony Blair, was said to have opposed the proposal. British Minister responsible for Africa Lord Triesman said it was unfortunate that the UN Secretary General did not take up the job himself. A diplomatic officer with the British High Commission in Zimbabwe said that there was no conflict between Britain and Zimbabwe and so there was nothing to mediate.’

President Mkapa has been nominated as the Patron of the UN Committee for the 2008 ‘International Year of Planet Earth’. The other co-patron is another retired president, Sam Nujoma of Namibia. Tanzania is also among 17 nations appointed by the UN to form the Secretariat.

The Guardian reported on April 29 on the new government of Tanzania’s relations with Zimbabwe. It wrote: ‘President Kikwete has supported President Robert Mugabe’s land reform policy…. Addressing a dinner hosted by President Mugabe at the Bulawayo State House, President Kikwete said Tanzania supported African countries that were struggling to rebuild their economies. “We will continue to propagate the philosophy that political freedom becomes meaningful only if we can make decisions freely without being pushed or interfered with by foreign countries.” He also praised President Mugabe for his firm anti-neo-colonialism stand, saying the freedom that Zimbabweans fought for would otherwise be meaningless. “As we speak today, Mr President, we can say those who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the betterment of other people during Chimurenga and the independence struggle did not do so for nothing.” He said the relationship between the two countries should not be confined to the independence struggle but should also cover the economy, commerce and security.” Continue reading →