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Chenge dodges reporters` questions
2008-04-19 09:44:56
By Hannah Mwandoloma
The Minister for Infrastructure Development, Andrew Chenge, yesterday gave a cold shoulder to journalists who wanted to interview him soon after he had closed a meeting in Dar es Salaam.
Chenge, who is alleged to have deposited 1.2bn /- in a foreign bank account in the UK, arrived at about 1pm at the meeting on piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Western Indian Ocean, which was organized by the International Maritime Organisation.
The minister, who of late has been hitting newspaper headlines, spent about eight minutes to read his closing speech, before he left the conference room.
As he was leaving, a group of journalists who were covering the meeting rushed out to interview him.
Surrounded by reporters, Chenge walked towards his car, parked some metres away without saying a word.
As he walked towards the car, journalists hungry for news shot questions at him, some seeking clarifications regarding the allegations.
``I do not want to talk,`` he said before be entered his car, which sped away.
Speaking at the meeting, Chenge commended the participants for the fruitful meeting which resulted into the preparation of a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning the repression of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Western Indian Ocean.
``I wish to commend each one of you for responding with full understanding on the need for cooperation in combating the threat and menace of piracy and armed robbery facing the region,`` said Chenge.
Allegations against Chenge were first reported by The Guardian newspaper of UK, which revealed that British investigators involved in a three-year inquiry over the controversial radar deal had located more than USD one million in an account owned by Chenge in Jersey, UK.
Chenge, Tanzania`s attorney general for ten years until his ministerial appointment, told journalists on his return from China on Wednesday that the allegations were too serious and he needed time to respond to them.
The embattled minister was in China as part of President Jakaya Kikwete`s entourage on an official visit there, when details of his foreign offshore bank account made newspaper headlines in the country.
In his remarks made on Wednesday, he said he believed the claims were baseless and malicious as they only related to the purchase of radar from the UK’s leading arm`s manufacturers, BAE Systems. He swore to fight back.
He said the amount he was alleged to have deposited in the foreign account was peanuts, a statement that irked some legislators.
``Chenge`s remarks are insults to the whole nation. 1.2bn/- is not peanuts as he claims,`` said MP Wilbrod Slaa (Chadema) in an exclusive interview with The Guardian.
Khalifa Ali Khalifa (Gando, CUF) said 1.2bn/- was a lot of money, which could construct four secondary schools in every region.
Commenting on the same issue, Bukene MP Teddy Kaselabantu (CCM) said 1.2bn/- was not a small amount of money, but said this depended on the type ofperson who was saying that 1. 2bn/- was just ``a few cents.``
``But for ordinary and poor Tanzanians, even myself, 1.2bn/- is big money,`` said Kaselabantu.
Beatrice Shelukindo (Kilindi, CCM) said Chenge`s statement might add more pain to Tanzanians, who suspected that government officials and ministers were squandering the country`s wealth at the expense of the poor.
``Tanzanians will totally lose confidence in their government because of such statements. I don`t know under which circumstances Chenge made these remarks. Maybe he was not in a normal mood when he made the remarks,`` said Kilindi MP.
As AG, Chenge was the government`s chief legal advisor when the 28 million Pounds Sterling (approximately 70bn/-) radar was purchased at what is alleged to have been a massively inflated price.
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