Officials deny US $40 million air system hinders growth

Tanzanian officials have rejected claims that the country cannot afford to buy a controversial US $40 million air traffic control system from a UK-based aerospace firm, and should instead spend the money on much-needed social development and economic growth. "We've all along been saying that we need that particular type of system to boost the safety of our airports," Margaret Munyagi, Director-General of the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa has said the East African country needs the new system to replace obsolete technology, and that his government cannot continue to leave safety "in the hands of God", Reuters reported on Tuesday. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have previously criticised the proposed system, saying it is too expensive and has unnecessary military capability for a country with only eight military aircraft. The World Bank has said it supports the upgrading of Tanzania's air traffic control system in principle, but estimated that a suitable system should cost about $10 million. The UK government has been forced to postpone a decision on whether to grant an export licence for the system after it emerged that the manufacturer, BAe systems, had been told by government officials that a licence would be granted even though the government's decision-making process had not been completed, the UK-based Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday. The company had gone ahead and begun assembly of the system without permission for the sale, the report added. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has backed the plan despite opposition from International Development Secretary Clare Short and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. Short and Brown have argued the sale should be stopped, because the cost of the system threatened Tanzania's sustainable economic development, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The Guardian quoted a World Bank report on the air traffic control system as saying it was "not suitable for civil aviation". The system's transmitter has already been superseded and would need an expensive maintenance agreement, rendering the effective cost of the deal even higher, the report added. After Tanzania won $3 billion in debt relief from the IMF and the World Bank under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative last month, the government of President Benjamin Mkapa pledged to use the money to "strengthen support for education, health, water, roads and other priority sectors". At the time of the debt relief announcement, the World Bank and the IMF praised the Tanzanian government for the progress it had made in governance, financial management, tax reform, in its efforts to control corruption, and its adherence to its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Despite economic reforms, Tanzania remains one of the world's poorest countries, and is ranked 140th of 162 countries on the UN Human Development Index for 2001. The UK-based aid agency Oxfam has criticised the proposed air traffic control deal, saying it would wipe out two-thirds of the real savings Tanzania had gained from debt relief at a time when a quarter of the country's rural population lacked access to health care, the Guardian reported. Oxfam noted that $40 million would pay for basic health care for 3.5 million people.