PRESS SUMMARIES 12 DECEMBER 2014 National news US donor agency expresses grave concern in wake of IPTL scandal Ambassador Mark Childress warns corruption will bar new MCC compact The Board of Directors for the United States of America Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has expressed serious concerns on the fight to control corruption in Tanzania, including the implications of the recent case involving Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL). A statement from the US Embassy circulated to the media yesterday said even though the board voted to allow Tanzania to continue developing a second compact programme, it strongly encouraged the government to take firm, concrete steps to combat corruption as a prerequisite to the board’s approval of any final compact. The board held its annual country selection meeting on December 10, 2014 where the concerns were raised. The full text of the Board’s December 10, 2014 public statement is available on the MCC website. In the statement, the board acknowledged the importance of the government to follow-through on the Tanzanian State House’s December 9 statement that it would act promptly and decisively on the late November parliamentary resolutions regarding the IPTL scandal. The US Ambassador to Tanzania Mark Childress noted that progress in combating corruption is essential to a new MCC compact, as well to an overall improved business climate in Tanzania. He added that US government is encouraged by the State House’s announcement of December 9 this year that it will soon address the parliamentary resolutions linked to IPTL, and urged quick government action, given the impact on several key development issues. (Jambo Leo, Mtanzania, The Citizen, The Guardian et al) PCCB finalises Tegeta Escrow account probe Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) is finalizing investigation regarding the Tegeta escrow account in which 300bn/- is alleged to have been siphoned by high ranking individuals. The Director General of PCCB, Dr Edward Hoseah, told Daily News that PCCB have so far worked on all issues of concern that were raised by the National Assembly; the final report should be expected very soon. The saga, which has been on the limelight for months now, revolves around funds held in an escrow account opened at the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) by Tanesco and Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL) and later paid to IPTL’s owner, Pan African Power Solutions Tanzania Limited (PAP) in 2013. Reacting to questions from this paper, Dr Hoseah confirmed that the anti corruption watchdog had almost completed investigations into affair, which has attracted local and international attention. The Controller and Auditor General (CAG) had submitted a separate report on the issue to Parliament which was later tabled in the House by Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC). In its report, the parliamentary committee called for disciplinary action by appointing authorities against ministers, High Court judges and other high ranking government officials who benefited from the saga. (Daily News et al) 11.5 m voters cleared for Sunday civic polls The target was 18.5 million voters, therefore, those who got the okay only constitute 62 per cent of the goal Over 11 million Tanzanians have been registered and declared eligible to vote as tension heightens countrywide ahead of the local government elections on Sunday. The Prime Minister’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government here said 11,491,661 voters who have been registered constitute 62 per cent of the targeted 18,587,742 voters. The director of the local government polls, Mr Khalist Luanda, said further that the targeted 18.6 million voters constitute 42 per cent of all Tanzanians according to the 2012 national census. He said nearly everything was in place as preparations were in final touches ahead of the Sunday elections. According to the PMO’s statistics, the newly promoted Katavi Region was leading in voter registration after clearing 79 per cent of its eligible voters closely followed by Kagera Region which has cleared 78 per cent of the targeted voters. District wise, Mpanda and Babati claimed the top spots with 107 per cent and 101 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, Dar es Salaam Region had the worst performance in the exercise with 43 per cent followed by Kilimanjaro Region which penned 50 per cent of voters. Luanda also named Kilindi in Tanga Region and Same in Kilimanjaro as districts that had the least number of voters who registered for the polls. The newly promoted district penned only 21 per cent of residents eligible to vote while Same managed to chalk only 22 per cent of its voters. The director said the names of registered voters have been printed and all district and municipal councils must ensure they are posted on notice boards. (The Citizen et al) Lack of water kills 8,000 TZ mothers Mothers and newborns in Tanzania and most other developing countries are still dying because of unreliable water supply, poor hygiene as well as inadequate toilets, according to a new report by WaterAid and London School of Tropical Medicine. The report to be published today in PLOS Medicine Journal shows that situation is worse in medical facilities and homes, despite improvements in health care. Some 38 per cent of Health care facilities in 54 low income countries are without good water supply, according to the survey. Published alongside the report, a companion paper in PlosOne has illustrated the situation in Tanzania, revealing that less than 30.5 per cent of births occur in places with safe water and basic sanitation. Nearly 8000 women in Tanzania die each year during or immediately after childbirth but according to Lenka Benova, the lead author of the report, 10 per cent of these deaths would have been avoided with better hygiene. Lenka said that nearly half of women, and disproportionately the country’s poorest, are giving birth at home, and almost none of these homes have basic clean water supply and sanitation. (The Citizen et al) “Each day must be human rights day” As the world marks human rights day on Wednesday, Tanzania has always been fortunate insofar as it is proud to proclaim its peacefulness together with pioneering ground breaking initiatives undertaken on the continent. Tanzania has hosted both the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the African Court of Human Rights and has accepted wholeheartedly the African Court of Human Rights jurisdiction which makes the country gain international acclaim for its position and treatment of refugees. UN Resident Coordinator Alvaro Rodriguez said when marking the Human Rights Day, that Tanzania has consistently demonstrated its openness and was quick to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability very early. He said that Tanzania is also part to the CEDAW the convention for Elimination of Discrimination against Women and CRC, the Convention on the Rights of the Child. He named several terrible incidents that infringe the human rights in the country as brutal and often fatal, attacks on person with albinism; the killing of elderly women and men; families who have lost loved ones due to acts of violence and who continue to face discrimination and economic hardship. He said that it pains him to hear of the large number of reported cases of child abuse, the continued incidents of harmful practices, that in some cases no one has been made accountable for their actions, that some criminal investigations have not moved forward or that families tend to give up on seeking legal redress to their issues within the framework of our justice system due to lack of financial resources and appropriate legal support. He underscored that despite the fact that such acts or forms of discrimination are principle, illegal, a number of factors, including: structural poverty, inadequate action by state actors, traditions, the result in the occurrence of discrimination and violence, while the actions of some of those who perpetrate such crimes go unpunished. (The Guardian et al) International News As Sahel faces mounting threats, UN envoy urges Security Council to remain engaged in region Amid a proliferation of militant groups and disquieting levels of food insecurity, the situation in the Sahel has become increasingly fragile, a United Nations special envoy told the Security Council today, as she urged the international community to ramp up its efforts towards helping the diverse and troubled region. Special Envoy for the Sahel, Guebre Sellassie said in her end-of-year briefing to the 15-member body that the security situation in the Sahel continues to be impacted by the crises in Libya, northern Nigeria, northern Mali and the Central African Republic . Ms. Sellassie last updated the Council in June providing a similarly bleak overview of the situation in the Sahel , a vast expanse of territory stretching from Mauritania to Eritrea, including Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan. In her briefing yesterday, however, the envoy explained that the region was facing an added threat as reports that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants had established a bulwark in the Libyan desert. She said the persistent allegations that the Islamic State has set up training camps in Libya are particularly worrisome if the situation in Libya is not quickly brought under control, many states in the region could be destabilized in the near future. (World Media) After CIA torture revelations, US must now recover moral high ground – UN expert The United States use of torture when interrogating prisoners captured in its “War on Terror” has damaged the countrys moral high ground and created a set-back in the global fight against the condemnable practice, a United Nations human rights expert has declared. Juan Mendez, the UNs Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, said in a news release yesterday that the example set by the United States on the use of torture has been a big draw-back in the fight against such practice in many other countries throughout the world. As a Special Rapporteur with a mandate to visit numerous countries across the globe, he added that now Member States were either implicitly or explicitly telling him “Why look at us? If the US tortures, why cant we do it?” Mr. Mendezs comments follow the long-awaited release of the US Senate Intelligence Committees report on CIA interrogation techniques which concluded that US high officials promoted, encouraged and allowed the use of torture after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and during President George W. Bushs administration. The practice, known as enhanced interrogation techniques, was terminated by President Barack Obama. The Special Rapporteur commended the thorough and frank report, particularly as it managed to break through a wall of silence put into place by the former administration which, he said, had aggressively and repeatedly rejected the principles of transparency and accountability and maintains the pattern of denial and defense. (World Media)
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 09:11:33 +0000