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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAR ES SALAAM 000159 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR AF/E JTREADWELL, INR/AA FEHRENREICH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM SENV AU TZ SO
SUBJECT: FM MEMBE ON ZANZIBAR, POLITICS, AU, AND PIRACY 
 
REF: A: Dar es Salaam 155 B: Dar es Salaam 57 
 
DAR ES SAL 00000159  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: Foreign Minister Membe convened the diplomatic corps on 
February 19 for a general briefing on Tanzanian domestic and foreign 
affairs.  Membe reported GOT endorsement of a Zanzibar coalition 
government; welcomed international monitoring of the October general 
election; boasted of Tanzania's free press and anti-corruption 
activity; and claimed the GOT was reviewing its laws to consider 
permitting prosecution of pirates.  Membe also indicated Tanzania 
would soon be seeking support to train Somali soldiers.  Although 
little of the information was new, in some areas Membe's comments 
were the first of a public nature.  The event was open to the press 
(whose subsequent reporting varied in accuracy), and Membe permitted 
one question from the assembled diplomats.  END SUMMARY. 
 
ZANZIBAR: "WE WISH THEM ALL THE BEST" 
------------------------------------- 
¶2. Membe said the GOT and CCM had officially endorsed the formation 
of a coalition government.  On the proposed referendum, he said 
lawyers and the Special Committee were now working out the "precise 
and clear question" to be asked of Zanzibar voters, as well as the 
modalities of the referendum, in particular whether it would be held 
in advance of the general election or at the same time.  He 
expressed appreciation for the efforts of Zanzibar President Karume 
and CUF leader Seif Sharif Hamad: "We wish them all the best." 
 
2010 UNION ELECTIONS: "FREE AND FAIR" 
------------------------------------- 
¶3. Membe invited the international community to monitor the Union 
and Zanzibar elections set for October.  He said formal invitations 
would also go to SADC and the AU to ensure free and fair practices. 
Membe mentioned the recently passed Electoral Expenses Act (see 
septel), which will require greater transparency by parties on the 
sources of their funding and will prohibit foreign funding after the 
dissolution of Parliament on June 30.  Membe added that independent 
presidential candidates would not be permitted in this election 
(despite a court ruling to the contrary), not because the GOT 
objects in principle but because insufficient time remains before 
the election to effect necessary constitutional, legal, and 
regulatory reforms. 
 
GOOD GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION: RICHMOND, BAE 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶4. Membe described Parliament's closure of debate on the Richmond 
report not as a silencing of GOT critics within CCM but as a means 
of allowing Parliament to move on to more pressing issues.  He said 
the GOT would continue addressing remaining recommendations from the 
Parliamentary Select Committee report.  "The nation" accepts the 
responsibility taken by former Prime Minister Lowassa and the two 
other ministers who "had to resign" as accountability.  Membe also 
observed that one of the officials blamed in the report, former 
Attorney General Mwanyika, had recently left office.  Membe 
characterized the debate over Richmond as having divided CCM within 
Parliament, a division so sharp that it "generated vibrations across 
the country," but never affected the unity of CCM nationally.  In 
any case, the closure of the debate meant that CCM's MPs were once 
again united. (Comment: This is a particularly rosy version of 
events.) 
 
¶5. Membe welcomed the settlement in the UK between BAe and the UK's 
Serious Fraud Office (SFO), under which BAe agreed to pay nearly USD 
40 million in connection with the sale of radar equipment to 
Tanzania in 2001.  Membe called on the UK to transmit the money 
directly to the GOT rather than to charity, since it was taxpayers' 
money that the GOT wanted to use "efficiently."  He also asked the 
UK to forward the SFO's final report and recommendations. 
 
¶6. Membe acknowledged the concerns of donors, especially those 
giving general budget support, about corruption in Tanzania.  The 
GOT was investigating serious corruption cases (although doing so 
quietly), while other cases were already in court.  Listing other 
anti-corruption measures, he said all top officials, himself 
included, were required to report their wealth and its sources.  He 
lauded Tanzania's free press for digging into people's pockets and 
houses to reveal corrupt tendencies.  (Note: When the Swedish 
ambassador asked about the suspension of the Swahili weekly Kulikoni 
(see ref a), Membe said it was an isolated case to be considered in 
the context of the many media outlets in Tanzania, said he was 
satisfied with media freedom compared to other countries, and 
referred discussion of specific issues to the Minister of 
Information.) 
 
 
DAR ES SAL 00000159  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
AU SUMMIT: WE CONDEMN COUPS 
--------------------------- 
¶7. Membe highlighted the AU's unanimous condemnation for and zero 
tolerance of military coups and unconstitutional changes of 
government.  He said the AU would immediately sanction Niger and 
prohibit its participation in AU meetings, as the AU had done for 
Mauritania, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar.  Returning to one 
of his familiar themes, he wondered aloud why all the coups took 
place in former French colonies.  Membe also touched on the election 
of Malawi as AU Chair, the expected renewal at the July summit of 
debate on transforming the AU Commission to an Authority, and the 
AU's strong endorsement of the Copenhagen Accord.  He thanked Japan 
and the U.S. for commitments to clean energy initiatives that would 
assist Africa. 
 
PIRACY/SOMALIA 
-------------- 
¶8. Membe acknowledged piracy as a problem for East Africa and 
continued to hedge about the possibility that Tanzania would accept 
pirates for prosecution and detention.  He reiterated the GOT's 
concern about the security risks from the associates of pirates who 
might be incarcerated in Tanzania.  He declined to specify how long 
a review of Tanzania's current laws might take, but insisted on the 
need for harmonization of laws with Kenya and Somalia, which was a 
discussion that would wait until the March meeting of the East 
African Community ministers.  (Comment: While it may make sense for 
Tanzania to learn from Kenya's experience, Membe's reference to the 
EAC, and especially to Somalia - by no means an EAC country - was a 
non sequitur.) 
 
¶9. Referring to the ongoing bloodshed in Somalia as a disgrace for 
the continent, Membe said the Somali government had prepared a list 
of 105 soldiers to be trained in Tanzania.  He said he would soon 
ask for support from partners (likely the U.S. - see ref b). 
 
LENHARDT