Dar es Salaam:  United States Ambassador Alfonso Lenhardt yesterday called on the Kikwete Government to step up the war against corruption, saying the citizens wished to see corrupt senior officials convicted and jailed.  He said there was need for more tangible action to raise the bar in the anti-corruption campaign and safeguard public resources.

Mr Lenhardt said winning the war against corruption was crucial for prudent allocation and use of resources to eradicate the endemic poverty, which he warned, was deepening.  The envoy said that to galvanise public goodwill and enhance the government's commitment to fighting corruption, the perpetrators must be subjected to due process, convicted, jailed, and their ill-gotten wealth confiscated.

"Corruption must be eliminated and this requires strong deterrent signals.  Doubting Thomases would like to see the corrupt in jail following due process in identification, investigation and prosecution," Mr Lenhardt added.   He was speaking during a media briefing at his official residence in Dar es Salaam to mark his first 100 days since he was appointed by President Barrack Obama last November.

While acknowledging that were already encouraging steps in tackling corruption, the US diplomat said closer collaboration between the executive, the judiciary and the media would help move the campaign forward.   The ambassador praised as a positive step, the early 2008 resignation of Mr Edward Lowassa, as prime minister, alongside then Cabinet ministers Nizar Karamagi and Ibrahim Msabaha and the ongoing prosecution of several high-profile corruption cases.

Mr Lowassa resigned following a parliamentary select committee investigation report that linked him to the $172 million emergency power supply scandal, through which a briefcase outfit, Richmond Development Company, was involved. The firm was awarded the contract in 2006 but failed to deliver at a time when the country faced a severe power shortage crisis.  Mr Karamagi held the Energy and Minerals portfolio, while Dr Msabaha was the minister for East African Cooperation.

Former Attorney General Johnson Mwanyika and former Energy and Minerals Permanent Secretary Arthur Mwakapugi were sent on leave pending their retirement from the public service, in what was seen as the government's reaction to the recommendations of the parliamentary team.   The Richmond scandal was at the centre of an uneasy relationship between Parliament and the government, with each sizing up the other over the war on corruption. Debate of the matter in the National Assembly also split the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi down the middle, with one group reportedly gravitating around Mr Lowassa and the other siding with Speaker Samuel Sitta.

However, during the last parliamentary session, last month, debate on the matter was formally closed, though the government can still pursue the matter through other channels.  Yesterday's remarks by the US ambassador came only a week after President Jakaya Kikwete made a public commitment to intensifying the war on corruption as part of his legacy should he win a second five-year term in the General Election expected to be held in October.   Mr Kikwete has particularly shown interest in having the new law on elections operationalised before the poll to curb voter bribery and use of funds to buy leadership.

The Kikwete administration has won praise locally and internationally for taking to court former Cabinet ministers Basil Mramba and Daniel Yona, and former PS Grey Mgonja over the reported loss of Sh11 billion in tax rebates given to a US gold auditing firm a few years ago. Several other suspects have been charged over the Sh133 billion scandal in which the funds were fraudulently paid out to more than 20 companies through External Payment Arrears (EPA) account at the Bank of Tanzania.

But Mr Kikwete's critics have argued that the government was merely putting up a show in the cases as many other suspects went unpunished despite credible evidence of corruption. Civil society groups and anti-corruption activists also say public officials found by the controller and auditor general (CAG) to have embezzled billions of shillings in public funds have not been prosecuted.

At yesterday's briefing, Mr Lenhardt, flanked by the First Secretary and Director, Office of Public Affairs, Dr Ilya Levin, said the US Government would place the war on corruption and good governance high among the priorities in its bilateral relations with Tanzania.  The US is Tanzania's single largest bilateral donor, having contributed nearly $700 million through the Millennium Challenge Corporation alone over the past five years. The funds are meant to reduce poverty, stimulate economic growth, and increase household incomes through targeted infrastructure investments in transport, energy, and water supply.

Since 2003, the US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) has provided over $817 million (over Sh1 trillion) to combat the pandemic and malaria.  Mr Lenhardt said the Obama administration would remain close to Tanzania, but added that the relationship would be based on mutual interest, including a desire to empower communities to chart their economic and democratic destinies. 

He urged the public not to give up on the fight to end corruption. "It will be self-defeating to say I can't do it. We have to do away with such indifference," he said.

Nurturing of a free press to hold those in government accountable was a priority.

Since his arrival, he said, he had visited at least eight different regions to inspect US-funded projects and speak to the people about their daily struggles. "One of the lessons I've learnt is the dignified manner in which the people were addressing their problems," he said.

The US envoy said the country was endowed with abundant resources, which if well harnessed, could make a big difference in the people's economic empowerment. He said the government needed to invest more in educating youth to build capacity and create a reliable pool of human resources to develop its various sectors.  He said he was encouraged that the problem of deepening poverty despite several economic development programmes was also a matter of concern to the government. "What we need to do is find the means to close the poverty gap and direct resources where they are most needed."

The envoy said that for programmes like Kilimo Kwanza to succeed, the shortcomings in terms of road and rail networks, should be addressed and profitable markets provided.

The ambassador also spoke about several other issues, including the piracy threat to regional and international trade and security. He said Tanzania and other countries should act fast to enact laws to enable them to play a role in combating piracy by prosecuting pirates and their collaborators.

He reiterated US support for the recent political developments in Zanzibar, where the formation of a unity government is in the offing, and wished the country would this time hold free, fair and transparent elections in October.   The US, Mr Lenhardt said, would not seek to impose its wishes on anybody, but would want to see the people fully exercise their democratic right to freely elect their leaders.