Mr Kikwete, don’t seek Equity from the British government with dirty hands!

"He Who Seeks Equity Must Do Equity."

The principles of equity and justice are universal in the common-law courts of the world. They are flexible principles aimed at achieving justice.  No maxim is ever absolute, but all of the principles must be weighed and fitted to the facts of an individual controversy.

In this case, if you want equitable treatment from the British government then come to that government with clean hands. You promised the British government that you would apply the rule of law to the Silverdale Farm case where you sat back and allowed Benjamin Mengi to manipulate and corrupt your Judiciary, Police Force and government Ministers and force bona fide British investors from Tanzania like dogs.

We in the UK condemn your omissions in respect of this case. We give you aid in times of austerity and you abuse our citizens.

You now ask our government  to return to you the monies from the BAE case.

We in the UK (BAE at least) have put their hands up to the ‘accounting errors’  and have been punished for those errors.  Has your government offered to return the monies from those who accepted the fruits of these errors?

Have you even committed to do so?

No, not even a whisper of self effacement, just indignation and demands for the monies to be handed back direct to your government as opposed to ‘charitable institutions’ midst claims of ‘colonialism’ and implicitly ‘racism’, the same old tune.

Yesterday, BAE Systems announced the formation of an advisory board on Tanzania. The formation of this Board forms part of this process and is in line with the settlement agreement with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), approved by the Court in December 2010. As part of the settlement BAE Systems agreed to pay the sum of £29.5 million for the benefit of the people of Tanzania.

The independent members of the Advisory Board will guide the Company as to the optimum means of applying the £29.5 million for the benefit of the people of Tanzania. Chairman of the Board, Lord Cairns said: "I welcome the opportunity to Chair this Advisory Board. It provides us with a great opportunity to deploy this substantial fund in a way that will provide sustained benefit as Tanzania advances down the path to full development’

Your government appears discontent with this act of transparency asking for the monies to be returned direct to your government, the very place, where the monies attributable to the ‘accounting errors’ came from.

Foreign Affairs minister, Bernard Membe is up in arms over the decision  telling a press conference in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday (May 17^th 2011) that apart from the decision being unfair, the British company’s move was aimed at tarnishing the image of the Tanzania government before the international community.

To be honest Mr Kikwete, your government does that without any help from the British government with cases such as the Silverdale Farm case.

It is here suggested, that the Tanzanian government is held to account for the corruption in the Silverdale Farm case and moved to compensate the British investors for the loss of their investment and their former Tanzanian staff for the loss of their livelihoods before you accept any money from this fund.

Whilst the fund may, as Lord cairns suggests provide an opportunity to deploy these monies in a way that provides sustained benefit to Tanzania as it advances  down the path to full development, it also presents the Tanzanian government with an opportunity to account for the corruption in the Silverdale Farm case and show a commitment to said development by adhering to principles of good governance and the rule of law.

THE BALL IS INDEED IN YOUR COURT!