Sarah Mcgregor
17 February 2008
Dar es Salaam — U.S. President George W. Bush, on a five-nation tour of Africa, has showered praise on the anti-corruption efforts of Tanzania's president, Jakaya Kikwete -- whose government is receiving substantial aid from Washington.
"You are a strong leader," Bush said Sunday during a press conference given with Kikwete in the Tanzanian financial capital, Dar es Salaam. "I'll just put it bluntly: America doesn't want to spend money on people who steal the money."
The United States, Tanzania's largest donor, will contribute 662 million dollars to the East African nation this year, according to a fact sheet supplied by the U.S. embassy.
Kikwete was elected in 2005 on promises to fight graft. He sacked Bank of Tanzania governor Daudi Ballali in January after an audit found the institution had made 116 million dollars in illegal payments to 22 companies. This month, Edward Lowassa stepped down as prime minister, and a new cabinet was named Feb. 13, after a public inquiry implicated key ministers in a 179 million dollar energy scandal.
Bush and his wife, Laura, arrived in Dar es Salaam Saturday and were met by of scores of dance troupes at the airport, and thousands of residents who packed the streets to cheer the presidential motorcade.
Billboards on major roads read "Long Live United States-Tanzania Friends", while some women in the city's business district donned colourful kangas stitched with pictures of Bush (a kanga is a type of sarong traditionally worn in this region).
Earlier, Bush made his first stop of the six-day tour in Benin, and will next travel to Rwanda, Liberia and Ghana. The countries included in the visit were chosen on the strength of their track records in governance, with Bush saying he wanted to call attention to success stories on a continent often associated with despair.
The trip is about "heralding good leadership, it's heralding honest government and is focusing our help on local folks' efforts to deal with malaria and AIDS," noted the U.S. leader.
Bush recently asked Congress to extend and double funding for his 15 billion dollar, five-year plan to fight AIDS, known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
This initiative, unveiled during the 2003 State of the Union address, provides anti-retroviral drugs and other treatment for HIV patients in developing countries, and is also aimed at reducing infection rates through what is dubbed the "ABC" approach: abstain, be faithful and use condoms. However, critics say PEPFAR places undue emphasis on abstinence and being faithful, while downplaying the importance of condoms in preventing the spread of HIV.
Bush also spearheaded a 1.2 billion dollar anti-malaria initiative that uses simple solutions like distributing bed nets to reduce malaria deaths in poor nations.
Tanzania is to receive 334 million dollars in the 2008 U.S. budget under these two programmes, said U.S. embassy public affairs officer Jeffery Salaiz.
The country has also been given a five-year, 698 million dollar grant by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) -- a U.S. government institution -- to upgrade electricity, water and roads infrastructure. The MCC awards funds to nations that demonstrate good governance and sound economic policies.
While in Tanzania, Bush is scheduled to visit U.S-funded projects, including hospitals, schools and a textile factory that produces 16 million anti-malaria mosquito nets every year.
Troubled countries
Bush also held talks Sunday with Kikwete, elected chair of the African Union this month, about various political hotspots in Africa, notably Kenya, Zimbabwe and Sudan.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to arrive in Kenya Monday to help resolve a crisis sparked by disputed presidential elections that has caused over 1,000 deaths, and the displacement of as many as 600,000 people, according to the United Nations.
Talks are currently underway between the camps of President Mwai Kibaki and his main challenger in the Dec. 27 poll, Raila Odinga, who claims the ballot was rigged -- with former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan as mediator. International observers have also expressed unease over the presidential election.
Concerning Zimbabwe, Bush called for free and fair general elections in the Southern African nation, which has scheduled the polls for next month.
Recent parliamentary and presidential elections in Zimbabwe have been marred by violence and claims of vote rigging, with concerns about the 2002 presidential ballot leading to the country's suspension from the Commonwealth. President Robert Mugabe has come under additional criticism for the economic decline in Zimbabwe, now in the grip of hyper-inflation, widespread unemployment and food shortages.
Addressing the situation in Sudan, Bush defended the introduction of U.S. sanctions against the Khartoum administration. Along with pro-government militias, Khartoum is accused of war crimes in the western Darfur region, where various rebel groups have been fighting since 2003. The conflict has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and driven millions from their homes, in what the United States has previously termed genocide.
Critics speak out
Bush has not received a warm welcome across the board in Tanzania.
On Friday, several hundred Muslims demonstrated in Dar es Salaam -- some hoisting signs that read "America is a vampire" and torching an American flag -- to protest against the president and his efforts to counter terrorism.
Student groups and university lecturers cancelled a planned demonstration after local police said there were not enough security personnel available to monitor the gathering.
However, the University of Dar es Salaam Academic Staff Assembly issued a statement criticising Bush for failing to address the hardships of African Americans.
"Tanzania cannot learn anything good from the US because, under the Bush administration, the rights of African Americans are perpetually violated, the number of prisoners from black communities is surging and social services deteriorating," the statement said.
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