TANZANIA: AMBASSADOR GREEN DISCUSSES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAR ES SALAAM 001539

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT AF/E FOR MBEYZEROV, AF/RSA FOR MBITTRICK
ALSO G/TIP FOR RYOUSEY, DRL/AE FOR LHELLER
JUSTICE FOR ASST A/G RCOMISAC
MCC FOR KFICKENSCHER, MKAVANAGH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2017
TAGS: PHUM PREL KWMN PGOV EAID MOPS TZ
SUBJECT: TANZANIA: AMBASSADOR GREEN DISCUSSES
ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS ISSUES, MCC SIGNING WITH
FOREIGN MINISTER MEMBE

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission, D. Purnell Delly for
reasons 1.4 (b,d)

Summary
--------------

1. (C) Tanzania's Minister of Foreign Affairs and
International Cooperation (MFA),Bernard Membe, told
Ambassador Green on November 27 that he has instructed
Ambassador Ombeni Sefue to work proactively to resolve the
issue of the domestic worker who was employed without pay by
an official of the Tanzanian Embassy in Washington D.C.
Membe stated he did not want the diplomat to be recalled to
Dar es Salaam until this issue was resolved. Although the
alleged victim was personal household staff and not an
official Embassy employee, the Government of Tanzania (GOT)
is committed to resolving this issue quickly and equitably.
Membe also told Ambassador Green that Tanzania's draft
anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) legislation will soon be
sent to the Cabinet for approval, the final step before the
bill is tabled in the Parliament. Minister Membe agreed with
the Ambassador that no public statements are needed on the
Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact signing before the
funds for Tanzania's MCC compact are appropriated by Congress
and the signing date set. End summary.

Status of Comprehensive Anti-Trafficking Legislation
-------------- --------------

2. (C) Ambassador Green outlined for Minister Membe the key
issues that the Government of Tanzania needs to address to
effectively combat the trafficking of persons, noting that
the State Department is mandated by Congress to report
annually on progress in the prevention, protection and
prosecution of human trafficking in every country worldwide.
The Ambassador voiced his concern that Tanzania's
comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation that had been
requested by President Kikwete and drafted early in 2007 by
the Ministry of Public Safety and Security appeared to have
stalled in Zanzibar for nearly six months during the
interagency comment period.


3. (C) Membe reported that he had received a note from
President Kikwete a few days earlier asking for an update on
the status of this legislation and in particular, if the bill
was ready for approval by the Cabinet. Membe promised that
his deputy would look into the matter and he would inform the
Ambassador once the bill was sent to the Cabinet. (Note:
Cabinet approval is the final step before a bill can be
introduced to the Parliament for a first reading. End note.)



4. (SBU) Minister Membe also assured the Ambassador that his
ministry will continue to host interagency meetings involving
all Government of Tanzania (GOT) ministries and agencies
concerned with effectively combating human trafficking. He
stressed that the GOT knows the serious nature of this
problem and "we are fully on board" with an interagency
process that would aid in halting human trafficking.

Tanzanian Official Case in Washington DC
--------------

5. (C) Minister Membe explained that the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs is working actively to resolve the unfortunate
situation in Washington in which a mid-level Tanzanian
Embassy official did not pay a Tanzanian woman who had worked
as housekeeper for nearly four years the salary stipulated in
her contract. He has been in close consultations with
Ambassador Sefue, who is currently in Tanzania, as well as
other concerned GOT officials.


6. (C) While the alleged victim was a personal employee of
the diplomat, Alan Mzenge, and not an Embassy employee,
Minister Membe said he had told Ambassador Sefue to instruct
Mr. Mzenge that he must compensate the former housekeeper in
full and that this compensation should be settled out of
court before Mr. Mzenge completed his Washington assignment
and returned to Dar es Salaam. Membe said if he had recalled
Mr. Mzenge, it would have appeared that the diplomat was
being allowed to "run away" from the situation. "I did not
want to create that appearance; thus I asked that he stay and
resolve this matter first," Membe said.


7. (C) Minister Membe explained that since the compensation
amount would be more than Mr. Mzenge could pay up-front in a
lump sum, that he had authorized the Ministry of Foreign

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Affairs to pay the amount which would be subtracted in
installments from Mr. Mzenge's monthly salary. According to
Membe, an accountant at the Tanzanian Embassy had calculated
that the minimum owed the former housekeeper would be her
contracted monthly salary (USD 900) times the 48 months she
was not paid, a total of approximately USD 45,000.


8. (C) However, Ambassador Sefue had told the Minister that
he had been informed by his Embassy staff that the alleged
victim's lawyers were asking for USD 300,000 and a large
percentage of that amount was for attorney fees. Membe said
that this sum appeared exorbitant according to his advisors.
However, the Ministry's goal remains to have Mr. Mzenge pay
fair compensation to the wronged housekeeper, then bring the
diplomat and his family back to Tanzania as quickly as
possible.


9. (C) Ambassador Green replied that this case was now with
the U.S. Department of Justice and not the State Department.
He could not, of course, offer legal advice nor could the
State Department intervene in a legal proceeding. However,
the Ambassador stressed the gravity of the charges and wisdom
of prompt resolution. Membe stressed he urgently wanted to
resolve this issue in a manner that was fair for the alleged
victim. He had even spoken with the Chair of the House
Foreign Relations Committee personally about the GOT's
commitment to quietly but fairly resolve this issue.
However, Membe said he was "shaken" when he learned from
Ambassador Sefue the huge sum the plaintiff's attorney was
asking for. Ambassador Green reiterated that any criminal
matters rest with the Department of Justice. Also, no USG
agency can influence a private law firm and it is a
characteristic of the our judicial system that private
attorneys often work on a contingency fee basis. However, he
promised Minister Membe to report the situation to the
Department.

ACOTA Peacekeeping Training and US Assistance
--------------

10. (SBU) Ambassador Green updated Minister Membe on the
current plans for the State Department-sponsored ACOTA
peacekeeping training of three battalions from the Tanzanian
Peoples Defence Force (TPDF) that is scheduled to begin in
late January 2008. The Ambassador expressed our appreciation
that President Kikwete is fulfilling his commitment to send
up to three battalions to assist with stabilizing the
situation in Darfur, and pledged our continuing cooperation
to prepare the TPDF for this deployment. The Ambassador also
told Membe that in addition to the MCC Compact--which is a
mutual agreement, not a grant--in FY 2008, the USG will give
an additional USD 600 million in bilateral, multilateral and
private assistance to Tanzania. Membe expressed his
appreciation for the continuing close bilateral cooperation
with the United States both in assistance and in the common
goals we share. He shared with the Ambassador an update on
his own efforts to resolve the impasse between the Government
of Burundi and the opposition Palipehutu-FNL (septel).
GREEN