Bernard Membe. Living in a dream world!!

 

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,

Mr Bernard Membe

“Tanzania got accolades during the year under review because of its respectable rule of law and governance that invests in its people.”

The Tanzanian government is desperate to attract foreign investors into Tanzania and will make greater efforts in the coming fiscal year to boost number of foreign visitors by advertising local tourist attractions using Tanzanian embassies abroad, international media and other means.

The nation will also leave no stone unturned in its bid to improve the investment climate in order to attract more foreign investors. Tanzania has appealing investment conditions emanating from the prevailing peace, tranquillity and national unity. Member states “Tanzania got accolades during the year under review because of its respectable rule of law and governance that invests in its people.”

The fact of the matter is, Tanzania did  not earn such accolades, does not demonstrate respectable rule of law (whatever Membe means by this) or invest in its people.

Tanzania seeks foreign direct investment yet it has failed to create an appropriate environment. That failure necessarily reduces the impact of UK and other donor aid in promoting economic stability and reducing poverty. This submission is supported by a recent study by Brian Cooksey which found “the quality of the country’s infrastructure and economic regulation are among the major determinants of the investment and business environment facing local and external investors, and the rest of the economy, which is largely rural and informal.”

The only person that believes Mr. Member's statements are perhaps Mr. Membe himself.

"Seeing is a gift that comes with practice." (Stephanie Mills), clearly Mr. Membe has not yet had enough!

DAILY NEWS

From the Parliament

 

Embassies in greater efforts to market tourist attractions

From SOSTHENES MWITA in Dodoma

Sunday July 24, 2011

THE government is keen on making greater efforts in the coming fiscal year in boosting the number of foreign visitors by advertising local tourist attractions using Tanzanian embassies abroad, international media and other means.

The nation will also leave no stone unturned in its bid to improve the investment climate in order to attract more foreign investors. Tanzania has appealing investment conditions emanating from the prevailing peace, tranquillity and national unity.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr Bernard Membe, said this in the National assembly when presenting his ministry’s annual budget proposals for 2011/12 financial year.

The minister asked the House to endorse 125,102,875,000/- for annual expenditure out of which some 76,387,187,000/- will be for recurrent expenditure and 44,500,000/- for development projects.

The ministry would this financial year make more efforts to locate more reliable markets for Tanzanian farm produce that meets international standards after consultations with stakeholders.

Construction, purchases and refurbishment of Tanzanian embassy buildings overseas will be continued during the fiscal year, according to Minister Membe. The ministry would also take active part to quell armed conflicts in Africa, especially in Libya.

Minister Membe also told the House that in 2011/12 the ministry would finalize arrangements to involve the community of Tanzanians living in the Diaspora in nation building efforts back home.

He said that Tanzania would continue cooperating with other African nations and other countries further afield to fight killer diseases such as malaria and AIDS.
Malaria, he said, kills 700,000 people annually in Africa, 595,000 of them being young children. According to him, the African continent has, at any one time, an average of 176 million malaria patients in its hospitals.

The continent also loses a total of 12 billion US dollars each year on purchases of anti-malaria drugs, mosquito bed nets and treatment of patients. The continent envisages eliminating the malaria scourge under an initiative led by President Jakaya Kikwete (chairman), which brings together leaders of 39 African nations.
The upshot is to eliminate the disease on the continent. The minister also said that AIDS had so far killed 22.4 people in Africa since 1984. “Out of this total, AIDS has snuffed out the lives of 11.2 women and children,” he said.
He added that the continent has five million patients and that 5,000 new infections occur daily.

Tanzania, Minister Membe said, cooperates with the international community in tackling the political and economic crisis in Somalia.

He said that Tanzania has added its voice to calls on the UN to increase peacekeepers in Somalia from 8,000 to 12,000. He said that the danger Somali pirates pose on merchant ships on Tanzanian territorial waters has triggered economic problems that include price hikes on imported goods because some ships take longer routes to reach local ports and elevated insurance costs.

Tanzania participates fully in efforts to unite SADC, EAC and COMESA into a single economic bloc so that a richer and more powerful continental entity is formed. Efforts in this direction were blessed in Sandton, South Africa, on June 12, this year, he told the House.

The economic bloc will bring together 27 African countries out of 54 including newly independent South Sudan. The 27 nations have a total of 700 million people. The move will also peg a collective national income at 1.6 trillion US dollars a year.

Mr Membe told the lawmakers that Tanzania looks forward to joining the envisaged economic bloc. Respect for Tanzania at international level increased considerably last fiscal year due to prevailing good governance, democracy and adherence to human rights.

He also said Tanzania got accolades during the year under review because of its respectable rule of law and “governance that invests in its people.” This situation has afforded the nation plenty of trust from international institutions, the minister said.