Kagame goes wild in New York, stays in $16,000-per-night luxury hotel

Rwandan President Paul Kagame is living in luxury during the United Nations General Assembly, staying in the $16,000-per-night presidential suite at the Mandarin Oriental.

Kagame’s rooms have “panoramic views of Central Park, the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline,” says the hotel’s Web site. Rwanda’s average annual income last year was $1,150, according to the World Bank.

Kagame, whose reps didn’t get back to us, is one of many world leaders with spending sprees on their UN agendas, despite the dismal global economic climate.

Saudi leaders are at The Plaza, sources said, and a group of them headed to the hotel’s Warren-Tricomi salon yesterday for grooming.

UN General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser and other Qatari royals visited bespoke suitmaker Domenico Vacca, where Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani dropped six figures, said a source. And you thought Fashion Week was over the top.

Israeli and Saudi delegates descended on Madison Avenue eatery Nello on Monday, while the Germans went yesterday for a lavish lunch. “Thank God the Greeks didn’t come at the same time as the Germans, or the [European] bailout would be over,” joked a spy.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri was dining at Harry Cipriani, as were dignitaries from Nigeria. “They have the Secret Service scout the area and then call up giving a fake American name like ‘Wilson,’ ” a spy said.

Argentina President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner hit town after a Parisian shopping spree, during which she reportedly bought 20 pairs of Louboutins at $5,500 a pair.

Palestinians, including President Mahmoud Abbas -- whose room is a more modest $3,000-a-night -- are holing up at the UN Millennium, as are Egyptian chiefs, sources said. “Security is unbelievable,” said a spy. “There are bomb-sniffing dogs and an ‘iron ring’ surrounding the hotel.”

Source: (The New York Post)

• It would be very interesting to know where President Jakaya Kikwete and his delegation are staying in  New York and how much Tanzanian taxpayers are paying for it. Kikwete is also in the "Big Apple" to attend a UN meeting.

Emergency alert: 3 million Tanzanians facing food shortage

DAR ES SALAAM

WHILE the government says Tanzania has food surplus this season, a group of several aid agencies has declared a state of emergency, warning that more than 3 million people in the country are facing serious food shortages.

Tanzania recently donated food to Somalia and started selling maize grain to neighbouring Kenya from the country's strategic grain reserve (SGR), but aid agencies say millions of people in more than 53 districts in the country actually need food assistance.

Following is a statement issued on Tanzania's food situation:

 Drought in Northern Tanzania

Geneva, 15 September 2011


1. Brief description of the emergency

Tanzania, like most other African countries, is dependent on rain-fed agriculture, with more than 80% of its population depending on subsistence agriculture. Persistent droughts especially in the central and northern regions, have led to repeated seasons of food shortages. Northern Tanzania region is in the same zone with the drought-stricken regions of the Horn of Africa. More than 53 districts in the region (Shinyanga, Mwanza, Mara, Singida, Manyara, Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Dodoma) have been declared by the Tanzanian Government as facing critical food shortages. Like for most of the countries of Eastern and the Horn of Africa, the lingering drought is indeed, becoming the worst drought in memory. Families, both pastoralists and agriculturalists, are going hungry with less than a full meal a day. All over the northern Tanzanian region, crops dried up for another consecutive year, due to insufficient rains in the just-ended 2010-2011 farming “masika” season. The looming hunger has also been exacerbated by drying of water sources.

2. Impact

It is estimated that at least more than 3 million people are affected by this drought, hence suffering food shortages. More than 400,000 metric tonnes of grain are needed to help these most-affected regions in northern Tanzania get through the next growing season.

3. National and international response

Though the Disaster Management Department has been distributing food to hunger-stricken families in these regions worst affected by drought, the supplies are not yet enough. In Simanjiro District, Manyara Region, for example, there was a first time 1.300 tonnes of maize distributed by the government. But as the situation got more critical, much more is needed, as per the assessment. The district authorities have appealed for additional food supplies due to the worsening situation brought about by the deepening drought.

The government has also been trying to sell grain from its strategic reserves at the subsidized price of Tshs 50 per kilogram, to help people in the area, but deep poverty means many lack funds to buy even this subsidized food. A portion has also been distributed to families that have no means to purchase it. For people living with HIV and AIDS, the effectiveness of the ARV drugs has been declining due to the diminishing level of nutrition among the patients.

Pastoralists from northern Tanzania have moved into southern regions in search of water and pasture resulting to increasing conflict with the agricultural communities

4. ACT Alliance response

The ACT Tanzania forum wishes to supplement the existing efforts through provision of critical emergency supplies of food and water to protect the lives of the affected households from hunger and starvation, targeting the most vulnerable families in the drought affected local communities.

The response will include:

Food: Provision of cereal (maize), pulses (beans) and cooking oil supplies to last the household up to the next growing season.

Seeds: Provision of maize and sorghum seeds for planting in the next season. Seed stocks have diminished, as people had to eat the seeds as a survival mechanism.
Water: Availing affordable and accessible water to the drought affected communities.

Members of the ACT Tanzania forum are: Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT), Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT), Church World Service (CWS), Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service (TCRS), Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and Christian Aid (CA), Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM).

The forum is preparing an ACT appeal to be submitted to the ACT Secretariat by the Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service (TCRS). The emergency response will be implemented by TCRS in collaboration with other AFTZ members, in all affected regions.

Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to Jean-Daniel Birmele, ACT Chief Finance Officer (Jean_Daniel.Birmele@actalliance.org).

Vodacom Tanzania hits 10 million subscribers

* M-pesa users reach over 2 mln

* Telecoms sector in steady growth

DAR ES SALAAM, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Vodacom Tanzania, part of South Africa's Vodacom Group , increased its users to 10 million this month from 9 million in March this year, it said on Monday.

Ranked the largest mobile phone operator in east Africa's second biggest economy, Vodacom said its M-Pesa money transfer service had more than 2 million customers, double the number in 2009.

M-Pesa has been highly successful in neighbouring Kenya where the biggest operator, Safaricom , has over 9 million active users on the same service.

Tanzania's mobile phone subscribers rose 20 percent to 21 million last year as a vicious price war pushed tariffs down.

Mobile phone penetration in Tanzania stood at 47 percent last year, the communications regulator said.

Communications is the fastest-growing sector in Tanzania, accounting for 20 percent of gross domestic product in the country.

Other major players in Tanzania's mobile phone industry are Bharti Airtel, Millicom's subsidiary Tigo Tanzania and Zantel.

Some smaller companies such as state-run telecoms firm TTCL, Sasatel and Benson, have tiny share of the market.

Earlier this month, Vodacom named immediate former managing director of Airtel Kenya Rene Meza (pictured above) its managing director.

Four charged over Zanzibar ferry disaster

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Four people have been charged with causing the deaths of more than 200 people when a crowded ferry sank last week in Zanzibar, local media reported on Saturday.

The captain of the MV Spice Islander I ferry, Said Abdallah Kinyanyite, 58, who remains missing, was charged in absentia at the Zanzibar High Court on Friday.

Authorities said they could not confirm whether or not the captain had drowned in the accident in the early hours of September 10. More than 600 people survived the tragedy in the popular tourist destination.

Prosecutors also charged one of the owners of the ferry, Yusuf Suleiman Jussa, 47, first officer Abdallah Mohamed Ali, 30, and a Zanzibar Ports Authority employee responsible for passenger inspection, Silima Nyange Silima, 27.

Zanzibar's director of public prosecutions Ramadhan Nassib told the court their negligence led to the sinking of the ferry and the deaths of 203 people, Tanzania's Citizen newspaper reported.

The death toll rose to 203 after six bodies were found this week in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.

The prosecutor said the accused allowed the ferry to be overloaded with passengers and cargo.

Zanzibar authorities promised to punish those responsible for the Indian Ocean archipelago's worst ferry disaster.

Rescue teams, with the help of South African navy divers, on Friday abandoned efforts to retrieve more bodies thought to be trapped inside the capsized vessel.

Zanzibar yasitisha zoezi la utafutaji maiti kwenye meli chini ya bahari

ZANZIBAR

 Serikali ya Mapinduzi ya Zanzibar jana imetoa tamko la kusitishwa rasmi kwa zoezi la utafutaji wa miili ya watu walionasa kwenye vyumba vya meli ya MV Spice Islander iliyozama eneo la Nungwi Kaskazini mwa Kisiwa cha Unguja huko Zanzibar kutokana na ugumu wa utekelezaji wa zoezi hilo.

 Afisa Habari wa Jeshi la Polisi Zanzibar Inspekta Mohammed Mhina, amesema kuwa kusitishwa kwa zoezi hilo kunatokana na kushindwa kwa wazamiaji wa Kimataifa kutoka nchini Afrika ya Kusini kuifikia meli hiyo kutokana na kina kirefu kilichopo eneo la ajali pamoja na hali mbaya ya hewa.

 Akitangaza uwamuzi huo wa Serikali, Makamu wa Pili wa Rais wa Zanzibar Balozi Seif Idi, amesema kuwa ingawa Serikali ilikuwa na nia ya kutaka kutolewa kwa kila mwili ulionasa kwenye meli hiyo, lakini imeonekana kuwa zoezi hilo ni gumu kutekelezeka.

 Amewaomba Watanzania kukubali kuwa ndugu zao waliopoteza maisha na miili yao kushindindikana kupatikana, ni mapenzi na maamuzi ya Mwenyezimungu aliyeamua kuwa bahari iwe sehemu ya makaburi ya ndugu zetu hao.

 Balozi Idi amesema kila mmoja hana budi ya kumshukuru Mungu na kukubaliana na hali hiyo kwani amesema hata kama Serikali ingekuwa na nia ya kuendelea na zoezi hilo, lingechukua muda mrefu na mwisho wa siku huenda pia mafanikio yasiwepo.

 Lakini pia Balozi Idi, amesema tangu kuzama kwa meli ya Spice Islander hadi leo ni muda mrefu kiasi ambacho hata kama miili ingefanikiwa kutolewa isingekuwa rahisi kutambulika kutokana na kuharibika vibaya.

 Katika hatua nyingine Balozi Idi amesema kuwa taarifa zote zinazohusu tukio hilo zitatolewa na ofisi yake ama kupitia kwa Waziri wa nchi katika ofisi yake Mh. Mohammed Aboud ili kuepuka utoaji wa taarifa za kuwachanganya wananchi.

MAISHA BORA KWA KILA MTANZANIA?

Tanzania inflation jumps in August, more rises seen

• Analysts see inflation staying on upward trajectory 

• Food prices up 18.6 pct in August vs 15.9 pct in July 

DAR ES SALAAM, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Tanzania's consumer price inflation rose for the 10th straight month in August, and higher food costs and an energy crisis are expected to keep driving prices higher in the coming months, analysts said on Thursday.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the year-on-year inflation rate rose to 14.1 percent in August from 13.0 percent in July, mirroring rising inflation across east Africa.

"The inflation rate will continue to worsen going forward. The power situation is bad, causing costs of production to rise," said Humphrey Moshi, professor of economics at the University of Dar es Salaam.

"The shilling is depreciating at levels I've never seen before. The import intensity of the Tanzanian economy means that the weakening shilling will translate into higher import prices, hence higher inflation."

Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices -- which account for just under half of the basket of goods used to measure inflation -- rose 18.6 percent in the year through August, up from an annual rate of 15.9 percent in July.

Prices of rice, bread, pastry, maize, wheat flour, cassava, pork, chicken, fish, fresh cow's milk, fruit, vegetables, potatoes and sugar, all went up during the period, the bureau said.

LOOMING CRISIS

"The forecast is that the inflation rate will rise even higher... Government plans to invest in irrigation farming are not forthcoming despite inadequate rainfall," said Moshi, adding that inflation could hit 16 percent in the year to September.

Rainfall has a big effect on inflation in the agrarian economies of east Africa, with good rains leading to good harvests and lower prices.

Tanzania's inflation rate last slowed in October, the month the statistics bureau introduced a new calculation methodology and lowered the weighting of food in the consumer price index basket.

Annual energy price inflation stood at 30.1 percent in August compared to 34.2 percent for the year ended July. On a monthly basis, the inflation rate rose 1.4 percent in August.

"With the inflation rate hitting double digits, government revenue collection falling and the value of the shilling declining, there is a danger of falling into an economic crisis," said Haji Semboja, a research fellow at the University of Dar es Salaam's Economic Research Bureau.

"Tanzania's economic growth has slumped in both the first and second quarters of this year. However, there are indications that the inflation rate might rebound in the fourth quarter of 2011 and start to decline."

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its 2011 growth forecast for Tanzania to 6 percent from 7.2 percent in March, saying frequent power outages would hurt output while food and fuel prices could push inflation higher.

Tanzania's Precision Air targets IPO for expansion

• Funds raised to be used for expansion

• Airline eyeing routes on Angola, Malawi, Zambia

DAR ES SALAAM

Tanzania's Precision Air plans to raise around 28 billion shillings ($17.1 million) in an initial public offering next month after getting the regulatory nod for the share sale, its brokers said on Thursday.

Precision Air's chief executive told Reuters the money raised from the IPO would largely be used to finance the airline's fleet and route expansion plans.

"Much of it will go to expansion by acquiring more aircraft and acquisition of spares, which are critical for the operation of the airline," Alfonse Kioko said, adding that he expected the IPO to be oversubscribed.

Kioko said apart from its domestic routes, the airline currently operates flights to Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and the Comoros.

"We plan to expand to central and southern Africa, then look at west Africa before moving on to the Middle East and Asia," he said.

"We are currently looking at Luanda in Angola and Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Other areas also under consideration are Lusaka (Zambia) and Malawi," he said.

Subscriptions to the issue of 58,841,750 shares run Oct. 7-28, said Orbit Securities, sponsoring broker for the IPO.

Precision, which is 49-percent-owned by Kenya Airways , is the east African country's biggest airline and has set an IPO price of 475 shillings per share.

Orbit Chief Executive Laurean Malauri said foreigners would be allowed to buy the shares, which are expected to be listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) on December 8.

"Precision Air has a local market share of around 65 percent and we expect the IPO to be fully subscribed ... There is a lot of appetite in the market," he said.

Investors are also setting their sights on the cross-listing of African Barrick Gold (ABG) and an IPO in October arising from the sale by East African Breweries of its 20 percent stake in Tanzania Breweries Ltd .

Precision Air Chairman Michael Shirima, who owns a 51 percent stake in the airline, started the company in 1993, offering charter services with a five-seat Piper Aztec plane.

The firm operates daily flights to several domestic and regional destinations.

Existing shareholders will see their stakes diluted after the IPO.

"The local investor will remain, with 35.52 percent of the shares, Kenya Airways will hold 34.13 percent and the public will own a 30.35 percent stake," said Malauri.

(Reuters)

Mbowe atua Zanzibar kuzungumzia ajali ya meli

DAR ES SALAAM

Mwenyekiti wa Taifa wa Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), Freeman Mbowe, amewasili Zanzibar kufuatia kutokea ajali mbaya ya meli usiku wa kuamkia Jumamosi inayokisia kuuwa zaidi ya watu 200.

Taarifa kutoka Zanzibar zinasema kuwa Mbowe, ambaye pia ni Kiongozi wa Kambi Rasmi ya Upinzani Bungeni na Mbunge wa Hai, amepanga kukutana na waandishi wa habari kwenye hoteli ya Serena muda wa saa 3 asubuhi leo hii siku ya Jumatatu.

"Mbowe anatariwa kutoa mkono wa rambirambi kwa wananchi wa Zanzibar kutokana na msiba huu mkubwa wa kitaifa," kiongozi mmoja wa CHADEMA aliiambia Tanzania files.

"Pamoja na kutoa rambirambi, Mbowe pia anatarajiwa kutema cheche na kuzisulubu serikali za Zanziba na muungano kutokana na uzembe mkubwa uliosababisha kutokea kwa tukio hilo."

Zaidi ya watu 600 waliokolewa kwenye ajali hiyo ya meli ya "MV Spice Islander." Uchunguzi wa awali umeonesha kuwa chanzo cha ajali hiyo ni meli kutokuwa kwenye hali ya usalama na kuzidishwa kwa idadi ya abiria na uzito wa mizigo kuliko uwezo wa chombo chenyewe.

CHADEMA ndiyo chama kikubwa cha upinzani nchini Tanzania. Hata hivyo, chama hicho hakina nguvu kubwa ya kisiasa na ushawishi Zanzibar.

Kitendo cha Mbowe kwenda Zanzibar na kuzungumza na wananchi kupitia vyombo vya habari kuhusu ajali hiyo ya meli kimetafsiriwa na wadadisi wa masuala ya kisiasa kuwa ni mtaji mzuri kwa CHADEMA kujichotea wafuasi zaidi Zanzibar.

"Pamoja na jitihada za CHADEMA, vyama vya CCM na CUF vitaendelea kutawala siasa kwenye visiwa hivi kwa miaka mingi ijayo kutokana na masuala ya kihistoria, utamaduni na dini," alisema afisa mmoja aliye karibu na serikali.

Wakati huohuo, Mohamed Mhina wa Jeshi la Polisi Tanzania anaripoti kutoka Zanzibar kuwa wazamiaji 12 kutoka nchini Afrika ya Kusini waliwasili Zanzibar Jumapili usiku kuungana na wazamiaji wengine wa vyombo vya ulinzi na usalama hapa nchini.

Wataalamu hao kutoka Afrika Kusini wamewasili ili kufanya uhakiki wa kujua kama bado kuna mili iliyokwama kwenye meli hiyo.

Waziri wa Nchi Ofisi ya Makamu wa Pili wa Rais wa Zanzibar, Mohamed Aboud, amesema kuwa wazamiaji hao wamewasili wakiwa na zana za kisasa za uzamiaji na kwamba kazi ya kwanza itakayofanywa na timu hiyo ni kuhakikisha kuwa wanaifikia meli hiyo iliyozama umbali wa karibu nusu kimometa kwenye mkondo mkubwa wa maji na majabali.

Bado Serikali na wananchi mbalimbali wanadhani kuna miili ya watu waliokwama katika vyumba vya meli hiyo tangu ilipozama usiku wa Jumamosi Septemba 10 mwaka huu ikiwa na idadi ya watu isiyojulikana.

Makundi ya wananchi wamekuwa wakitaja idadi ya ndugu na jamaa waliosafiri na Meli hiyo na ambao hawajapatikana wakiwa hai ama miili yao kiasi cha kutia shaka kuwa huenda bado wamenasa ndani ya vyumba vya meli hiyo iliyozama chini ya kina kirefu cha mkondo wa bahari ya Hindi.

Tangu kuokolewa kwa abiria 619 na kuopolewa kwa miili ya watu 197 hadi Jumamosi jioni, hakujapatikana mtu hai ama mwili wa abiria aliyekufa maji ukielea juu ya maji ama kukokotwa kupelekwa mwambao mwa nchi kavu.

Katika eneo ilipozama Meli hiyo zipo Meli nyingine za MV Kasa ya Jeshi la Wananchi wa Tanzania pamoja na MV Mamba ya Jeshi la Polisi ambazo zote ziliwasili alfajiri siku iliyotokea tukio hilo la kuzam,a kwa MV Spice Islander.

Three survivors cling on to a mattress and fridge to avoid drowning

(Source: www.dailymail.co.uk)

Survivors stay afloat as they wait to be rescued

Aid workers carry bodies of children who drowned

]\

Scores of bodies placed on the ground in tents ready for identification

A military truck delivers bodies at the Maisara grounds for identification

Women wait to view bodies at the Maisara grounds in Zanzibar

Zanzibar ferry death toll could rise sharply: VP

STONE TOWN, Zanzibar (Reuters) - The death toll from Tanzania's ferry disaster could significantly rise after it emerged there were more than 1,000 passengers aboard the vessel when it capsized last week, a senior Zanzibar official said on Monday.

Initial reports suggested the MV Spice Islander was carrying 800 people, well above the ferry's 600 passenger capacity, when it sank in the east African nation's worst maritime disaster for 15 years.
"We are expecting some more bodies between now, tomorrow or the day after. We managed to recover 197 bodies, but because the ship took more than 1,000 people, we expect more bodies," Zanzibar's second vice-president, Seif Ali Iddi, told Reuters.

More than 600 passengers were rescued from the ferry and the vice president of the semi-autonomous archipelago said he does not expect any more survivors to be found.
Iddi said South African divers were expected on Monday to start searching the wreck of the ferry at the bottom of the Indian Ocean for more bodies.
"At this time ... we don't expect any survivors unless maybe they managed to escape to Tanga (in mainland Tanzania) or to Mombasa (in Kenya). Our hope to get survivors is very small, but we expect to get more bodies," he said.

DEEP WATERS

A team of 11 South African navy divers arrived in Zanzibar on Sunday night after officials in Pretoria dispatched them and four medical personnel to help with search and rescue operations.
"Their first task is to see whether there are any bodies which have been trapped inside the ship. Of course they have to dismantle it to get the bodies ... it is a heavy ship full of cargo and it is very deep down, almost 400 metres," Iddi said.
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said the rescue team had arrived with equipment such as chambers and oxygen gases to be used in the operation.
Rescue workers said the divers would have to battle deep waters and strong Indian Ocean currents to get to the capsized vessel.

Zanzibar Police Commissioner Mussa Alli Mussa told Reuters helicopters would sweep the coastline and sea between Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania on Monday to look for survivors or bodies.
"We want to be completely sure that there are no bodies trapped inside the ship before we call off this operation," he said.

"WAKE UP CALL"

The ferry sank at midnight on Friday, off the coast of Nungwi village, a popular tourist spot in famous for its white sand beaches and diving clubs.
Village fishermen arrived at the accident scene in the early hours of Saturday morning to rescue passengers.
Flags flew at half-mast and all celebrations and entertainment were cancelled in Zanzibar as the government announced a three-day official mourning period from Sunday.
Some Zanzibar residents blamed the disaster on negligence and corruption that pervade the east African country.

"Government officials do not carry out any routine inspections on these ships to ensure they are safe. We are risking our lives every day in these waters," Munira Ahmed, a resident of Stone Town, told Reuters.
"Authorities look the other way while these ferries pack passengers like sardines and overload the vessels to dangerous levels."

The leader of Tanzania's main opposition CHADEMA party, Freeman Mbowe, urged the Zanzibar government to take decisive measures to improve marine transport safety.
"This national tragedy should serve as a timely wake up call to the government," he said.

BREAKING NEWS: BAE finally agrees to pay 76bn/- radar money to Tanzanian government

LONDON -- British defense company BAE Systems PLC says it is ready to pay 29.5 million pounds (approx. 76.4 billion shillings) to the government of Tanzania to close a long-running dispute over the sale of a radar and traffic control system.
A parliamentary committee on Friday released a letter from BAE chairman Dick Oliver saying that the company was ready to pay Tanzania as soon as the payment is cleared by Britain's Department for International Development.
Last year, BAE pleaded guilty to failing to keep proper records of payments to a former adviser in Tanzania.
The company had proposed paying compensation to the Department for International Development, which would then use it for projects in Tanzania, but the department said the money should go directly to the Tanzanian government.

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/sep/09/bae-payment-tanzania-fine-agreed

Msemakweli atoa taarifa kumjibu Yusuf Manji

The Kilimanjaro 'Wikileaks' Hotel in Dar es Salaam...

Pedestrians walk past the Kilimanjaro Hotel in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The hotel is owned by UAE business tycoon Ali Albwardy who has been accused of high-level bribery in Tanzania by a U.S embassy cable released by WikiLeaks. Albwardy denies the accusations.

FLASHBACK: Kikwete inaugurates Albwardy's hotel in Tanzania

President Jakaya Kikwete inaugurates the Bilila Lodge hotel in the Serengeti National Park on July 10, 2009. On the left is UAE businessman Ali Albwardy, the owner of the hotel.

Albwardy Investment rejects corruption allegations

Tanzania State House denies WikiLeaks claims

WIKILEAKS: Corruption allegations against President Kikwete

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAR ES SALAAM 000277 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INR, R.EHRENREICH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL TZ
SUBJECT: KIKWETE CORRUPTION TIDBIT 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Michael Retzer, Reason 1.5 (d) 
 
 ¶1. (C) President Kikwete has accepted gifts (bribes) from 
the owner of the Kempinski Hotel chain,s Tanzanian 
properties, a citizen of the United Arab Emirates. 
 
¶2. (C) In a conversation with the manager and the publicity 
director of Dar Es Salaam,s Kilimanjaro-Kempinski Hotel 
hours after accompanying A/S Frazer to her October 18, 2005 
meeting with then-Foreign Minister Kikwete, I commented on 
Kikwete's flashy attire, asking "Who dresses him?" "We do," 
they responded.  Initially thinking this meant Kikwete 
frequented a men,s shop in the hotel, I learned later in 
the evening from hotel publicity director Lisa Pile (protect) 
that the hotel owner*UAE citizen Ali Albwardy*had recently 
flown Kikwete to London for a subsidized shopping 
expedition. 
 Among other things, on that trip Ali Albwardy bought 
Kikwete five Saville Row suits.  He had also recently made a $1 
million cash contribution to the CCM (which is a legal 
contribution under current Tanzanian law). 
 
¶3. (C) Pile told me the Kempinski Hotel chain is greatly 
expanding its presence in Tanzania.  She said that in 
December it would open "the best hotel in Zanzibar."  Her 
prediction was a little off; the new Kempinski hotel, 
located on the beach on Zanzibar,s east coast, opened January 5.  I 
attended the opening ceremony along with Zanzibari 
President Karume, who was asked publicly by Ali Albwardy for a site 
in Stone Town to build a new hotel.  Later that day, Pile 
revealed that the Zanzibar government had already earmarked 
for Ali Albwardy a hotel site in Stone Town. 
 
¶4. (C) Pile also said in the October 18 conversation that 
Ali Abwardy was about to receive the rights to construct two 
new hotels on the mainland: one on the edge of Ngorongoro 
Crater and another on the Serengeti plain overlooking the main 
animal migration routes.  Stringent conservation rules 
currently ban the construction of permanent structures 
inside national parks*including in the crater and on the Serengeti 
plain*but Pile said that in November legislation would be 
introduced to parliament to authorize the new hotels. 
(Comment: We have received no reports on new legislation, 
but the Dar Es Salaam Daily News on January 15 reported that 
the Tanzania National Parks Authority had approved construction 
of a five star hotel on the Serengeti plain.) 
 
¶4. (C) Later on October 18, over dinner, an Indian/South 
Asian man described as a business associate of Ali Albwardy 
briefly took Pile from the table for a conversation in 
Kiswahili.  I am not sure what was said, but Kikwete's name 
came up several times and he passed her an envelope.  Pile 
told me the envelope was stuffed with 1 million shillings 
( $1,000) and was to pay for a Kikwete meeting at the 
Kilmanjaro-Kempinski later that month.  Apparently Kikwete 
is a regular customer, but no name ever appears on the hotel 
registry when a government bigshot has an "event" in one of 
the guest rooms. 
 
¶5. (C) Bio Note:  Lisa Pile, an Australian citizen, has 
lived in Dar working for Kempinski Hotels since early 2004. 
Before that she had served in a similar capacity with the 
Kempinski chain in China.  Her family in Australia is prominent in 
Australia's Liberal Party (the center-right party of Prime 
Minister John Howard). 
 
¶6. (C) Comment:  What does it all mean?  I don,t know, but 
my guess is that the investor Ali Albwardy has access to 
oil money out of the UAE.  I suspect giving free clothes and 
the campaign donation is just the way these people do business. 
 
¶7. (C) For his part, Kikwete probably thinks having all 
these five star hotels around is a good idea for the country,and 
I agree with him.  His new minister of Natural Resources and 
Tourism, Anthony Diallo, says he wants to double tourism's 
contribution to the national economy in ten year,s time. 
Kikwete probably believes there is no harm in taking these 
&little gifts8 to do what he would have been inclined to do 
anyway.  That said, they are what they are: bribes. 
 
WHITE

<Source: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/02/06DARESSALAAM277.html>