Thabo Mbeki Urges African Nations to Emulate Tanzania on Fight Against Illicit Financial Flows

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki (L) Meets President Magufuli at State House in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, November 28, 2018. (Photo Credit: State House)

 

By TZ Business News Staff and Agencies.

 

SOUTH African former President Thabo Mbeki, who currently chairs the African Union (AU)’s High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, has urged African countries to emulate efforts by the government of Tanzania in foiling illicit financial transactions.

Speaking in a media briefing after a meeting with President John Magufuli at the State House in Dar es Salaam Mbeki challenged other African countries to follow the path set by Dr Magufuli’s government in curbing the malpractice.

Mr Mbeki informed President Magufuli that the AU panel had obtained essential details on how Tanzania is confronting illicit financial flows through shoddy mining contracts and corruption, which remain an uphill task for other African countries.  The details were however not released at the Press briefing.

“It is of no doubt that the efforts being undertaken in Tanzania ought to be emulated by other countries in Africa.  President Magufuli has spoken very well on how African countries are losing trillions through illicit flow,” a Pan African News Analysis blogspot reported Mbeki as saying on  Wednesday, November 28th, 2018.

The distinguished statesman is of a view that concentrated and joint efforts among African countries is paramount in restraining the illegal transactions which have robbed the continent billions of US dollars in shoddy dealings and plundering of the continent’s vast natural resources.

On the same day, President Magufuli also met  at State House Norway’s Minister for International Development, Mr Nikolai Astrup.   The minister assured President Magufuli of additional US 56 million dollars (about Tsh. 128bn/-) to execute projects in various sectors of the economy.

The Norwegian Minister made the commitment during his meeting with President Magufuli at the State House in Dar es Salaam when he paid a courtesy call at the Head of State at  the beginning of a  four-day official visit in Tanzania.

President John Pombe Magufuli (R) holds talks with Norway’s Minister for International Development, Mr Nikolai Astrup.

“Norway expresses its commitment in supporting Tanzania’s blueprint to realize middle-income economy by the year 2025,” the Minister assured Dr Magufuli during their meeting.

President Magufuli assured the visiting minister that Norway has been a close partner of Tanzania even before the independence, and that such bi-lateral cooperation will continue to flourish.

Norway is among Scandinavian countries which has supported an array of development projects covering sectors such as energy, infrastructure and agriculture and strengthening of revenue collection systems at the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA).

Tanzania has also benefited from major Norwegian investors namely Equinor, previously Statoil, which is engaged in exploration of natural gas and oil onshore and offshore the Indian Ocean as well as Yara which is among major producer and supplier of fertilizers and farm inputs in Tanzania.

Equinor through partnership with other multinational companies engaged in exploration and production of oil and gas are gearing to set up a Liquefied Natural Gas (LPG) plant in Tanzania, one of its kind in the East African region and beyond.