Focus - British minister Clare Short's visit

Tanzania is to go ahead with its controversial radar deal and the UK will step up its development assistance to the country after "frank and friendly discussions" between Clare Short, British Secretary of State for International Development and Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa. The announcement that both sides would "find a sensible way forward" was made during a two-day visit that was dominated by discussions over the controversial US $40 million, joint civilian-military air traffic control system that Tanzania has bought from British Aerospace (BAe) Systems. "Its clear that there are lessons to be learned about this contract, the price, the way it was made and the technology but it's legally binding therefore we have to find the best way forward for Tanzania," Short, a long standing critic of the deal, told reporters in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday. "We, the UK, want to support Tanzania in that effort in learning lessons so that such a thing wouldn't happen again." Short also announced that the UK would be providing Tanzania with "predictable and long-term" development assistance over a six-year period that would total at least £45 million ($63m) in budgetary support annually. Prior to the visit, some $14 million worth of British aid had been suspended after questions were raised whether Tanzania had breached its commitments to alleviate poverty by purchasing the radar. LESSONS TO BE LEARNED Some analysts, however, have joined the opposition in treating the agreement with scepticism, saying that there are still issues that need to be resolved before it can be sure that lessons really will be learned. An International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) report on the radar has been labelled as "pretty damning" and reportedly "brands the system a complete waste of money". Yet it seems that cancelling the deal is out of the question as, according to Salum Msoma, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Transport, not only is the contract legally binding, but the "sophisticated, joint civilian and military system is in Tanzania and is being installed at various sites around the country". Since the controversy emerged, there have been unproved allegations of corruption, both in the UK and in Tanzania, linked to the finance and procurement aspects of the deal. Short, herself, was quoted in the British press saying that she found it "very difficult to believe" that such a contract "could have been made cleanly" though she had "no information to that effect". Indeed, Edward Hoseah of Tanzania's Prevention of Corruption Bureau told IRIN that investigations that "go beyond borders" were being undertaken and that a close follow-up was assured. "I can assure you that we are working on this very seriously, we are working with our counterparts in the UK and once we are done, we will come out in public. However, for the moment, it is too early to disclose anything," he added. Short said that discussion on the air traffic control and the acknowledgement that something was wrong had served as a lesson in systems of procurement, transparency and scrutiny of projects in the future. She also expressed confidence in the reforms that the government had implemented. "The systems have all been tightened up and the government is prepared to look at anything that has happened and make sure there is proper scrutiny. A lot of people argue that this contract couldn't have gone through present systems so we already know that it's not just words, it's deeds," she said. QUESTIONS STILL TO BE ANSWERED However, there are those in the diplomatic and development community in Tanzania that aren't entirely convinced that this is the "right way" forward. "The donor community has a lot to answer for," a diplomat in Dar es Salaam said on Thursday. "We keep on saying, 'The next time, you must do better...' But nothing happens and this is not the way forward." According to Reverend Fidon Mwombeki, Chairman of the Tanzanian Coalition on Debt and Development, few of the deal's critics disagree with the need for a functioning air traffic control system and while it may be too late to change the system that has been installed, there are questions that need to be answered. "I think the people of Tanzania need an explanation and an apology. The system was being installed while it was still being questioned so I expect the MPs to question the government over why they installed this thing when they were waiting for the report," he said. Likewise, Professor Lipumba, Chairman of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) believes that it is not too late to look into the whole issue. "Firstly there is the question of whether BAe cheated or misinformed Tanzania on the radar. Then there is the problem of corruption because I just can't understand how you have a $40 million deal that all the experts say you can get at a proportion of the price," he told IRIN. The opposition leader criticised the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for permitting the loan from Barclays Bank that allowed the deal go ahead when, under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, poor countries are not supposed to contract commercial debt. Despite the questions that critics want answered and the doubts expressed, the governments of Britain and Tanzania remain confident in their "shared objective of poverty reduction and determined that there should be sustained progress of Tanzania's reform effort". "There were lessons to be learned by both sides," a joint statement said. "On the Tanzanian side, the government of Tanzania reaffirmed its commitment to improvements in public expenditure management. The UK is reviewing the way it applies its export licensing criteria on sustainable development."