Government rejects claims of presidential jet row

Tanzania has rejected, as "sensationalism", "factual blunders" and "total lies", reports in the British press of a row between the government and the World Bank over moves to buy a new multi-million dollar presidential jet.

Salum Msoma, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Transport, told IRIN that the criticism was premature as, until now, the government had merely announced its intention of buying a new jet and would follow all the correct procedures.

"We have expressed our intention and we are going to pursue that intention, making sure that we satisfy all the our commitments and transparency requirements," he said. "If we cannot afford it, we will think otherwise."

Responding to criticism in the British press that Tanzania had "defied" the World Bank, Msoma said: "As if there is a standing order to Tanzania that says you are not allowed to do this or that. As far as I am concerned, there is no such World Bank order."

Meanwhile, Judy O'Connor, the World Bank's representative for Tanzania, played down the reports of a rift between Washington and Tanzania.

"The fact that this issue is being discussed in the parliament is encouraging. Our understanding is that no decision has yet been made on price, supplier or type of plane, and these issues all need to be looked at very carefully," she told IRIN from Washington.

"It is both vital and welcome that these kinds of expenditure decisions are made in an open and transparent way. The Bank is continuing to monitor the situation," she added.

Despite this, the main opposition party, the Civic United Front (CUF) still believes that the there hasn't been enough transparency with the deal.

"This is not just a statement of intention. During this budget session, the government asked for a down payment of 7 billion shillings (over $7m) for a 'government' plane. It was only during the debate that it emerged that the plane was for presidential use," CUF Chairman Ibrahim Lipumba told IRIN.

He said opposition members had criticised the lack of information available regarding the total cost, the tendering procedure and the reason for purchasing a new plane.

"Under the circumstances, you cannot say that this is just a consideration of intention. It looks very clearly that they have a supplier and they have an idea as to how much it will cost. They have not been very transparent about it," he added.

Despite the government's reassurances, analysts say that, in the light of the recent controversy surrounding the heavily criticised $40m air traffic control deal, there is likely to be much scrutiny surrounding this deal.