TANZANIA'S NEW ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW: A STEP FORWARD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DAR ES SALAAM 000677 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/E BYODER AND DMALAC MCC FOR GBREVNOV AND MKAVANAUGH E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2012 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON TZ SUBJECT: TANZANIA'S NEW ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW: A STEP FORWARD REF: DAR ES SALAAM 00085 DAR ES SAL 00000677 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission, D. Purnell Delly, for reason 1. 4 (b). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On April 17, Tanzania's Parliament passed the Anti-Corruption bill; legislation which has been in the works for more than two years. On April 25, Eunice Reddick, Office Director of East Africa, met with the Director General of Tanzania's Prevention of Corruption Bureau (PCB) and the Executive Director of a local NGO to discuss the new Anti-Corruption bill and the Tanzanian government's anti-corruption efforts more broadly. Overall, it is clear that the bill marks an important step forward, laying legal groundwork to accelerate prosecution of corruption crimes. The debates within Parliament, the donor community, and civil society, however, have revealed weaknesses in the new law. Most importantly, it appears the independence and effectiveness of the PCB will depend largely on political will. While the bill states that the PCB is an independent body, the President's Office (State House) will continue to fund the PCB and the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) will continue to decide whether or not to prosecute the cases submitted by the PCB. END SUMMARY. Parliament Passes New Anti-Corruption Law -------------- ¶2. (U) On April 13, Minister of State for Good Governance Philip Marmo, tabled the long-awaited Anti-Corruption bill in Tanzania's Union Parliament in Dodoma. On April 17, Parliament passed the legislation with one amendment. The amendment specified that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) is obliged to decide within 60 days of receiving a case from the PCB whether or not it should be taken to court or not. ¶3. (SBU) During their April 25 meeting, Reddick congratulated Edward Hoseah, PCB's Director General, on passage of the anti-corruption legislation. Hoseah emphasized that he was pleased that the legislation had been passed and predicted that implementing regulations would be completed by July. Hoseah told Reddick that the new bill would "sharpen the PCB's teeth to prosecute corruption," and he outlined the following key provisions: -- Corruption Crimes: The bill increases the number of corruption crimes from 4 to 24. Hoseah explained that the PCB now had the jurisdiction to prosecute corruption offenses in critical, new areas such as contracts, procurement, fraud, etc. -- Power of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP): The bill limits the power of the DPP, mandating that he/she decide within 60 days whether the PCB is authorized to prosecute a given case or not. In the past, Hoseah noted, the DPP could sit on a case for years and then decide not to prosecute. -- PCB's Independence: The bill states that the PCB is an independent body that will provide annual reports to both the President and Parliament. Hoseah explained that the President's Office at State House would still be responsible for allocating PCB's budget and that as Director General, he would directly answer to the President. Parliament Debates PCB's Power to Prosecute -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Although Parliament passed the Anti-Corruption bill four days after it was tabled, there was significant debate among Members of Parliament (MPs) including representatives from the ruling and opposition parties. The official opposition member in Parliament, Civic United Front's Hamad Rashid Mohammed, raised issue with the PCB's lack of independence, arguing that the PCB needed power not only to investigate but also to prosecute its suspects without the DPP's authorization. To address the PCB-DPP working relationship, some MPs suggested that there should be a 60 day time limit for the DPP to decide on a case brought by the PCB. Other Parliamentarians suggested that the DPP should be obliged to give an explanation if he/she decided a case should not be prosecuted. On April 17, the only amendment endorsed by Parliament was to establish the 60 day time limit. DAR ES SAL 00000677 002.2 OF 003 And Asks Why the Bill is Mute on Political Corruption -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In addition, MPs suggested that the Director General of the PCB should not be appointed by the President but rather proposed by a panel of judges and endorsed by Parliament. Both CCM and CUF representatives also criticized the bill's silence on combating corruption in political parties. In response to Reddick's questions on political corruption, Hoseah said that the Attorney General was currently reviewing the 1985 electoral law and the 2000 law on political parties and that these laws would be amended to address the issue of corruption in political institutions and during election campaigns. "The Prime Minister's Office felt that tackling political corruption outside the scope of laws already in place would interfere with existing laws," Hoseah said. Donors Recommend Measures to Increase PCB Independence -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) While commending the Government of Tanzania (GOT) on passage of the legislation, donors did raise several issues with the Anti-Corruption bill. For example, the Development Partners Working Group on Governance, which is co-chaired by Denmark and the U.K., provided the GOT with a set of comments on March 27, encouraging the GOT to address areas of concern including the PCB's independence. To ensure the PCB's autonomy, the Working Group recommended that the legislation establish (i) a transparent and public process to appoint PCB's senior officials; (ii) security of tenure for the Director General of the PCB; and (iii) safeguards on the powers and role of the DPP such as an obligation to give reasons for his/her decision to prosecute or not prosecute a given case. And Increase Penalties -------------- ¶7. (SBU) In addition, the Working Group on Governance was concerned with weak penalties including a five year maximum term of imprisonment. Highlighting the UN Convention Against Corruption, which requires states to ensure that corruption offenses liable to sanctions 'take into account the gravity of that offense,' the Working Group recommended minimum fines and minimum terms of imprisonment and that sanctions take into account the gravity of offenses. Finally, the Working Group recommended that the bill focus on measures to deter corruption such as civil forfeiture and considerations on how to extend the provisions to Zanzibar. (Note: Neither good governance nor anti-corruption has been designated a "Union issue" and therefore, the Anti-Corruption bill will not apply to Zanzibar.) Civil Society Argues for Greater Focus on Prevention -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) To solicit the view of civil society on the Anti-Corruption bill, Eunice Reddick and Poloff also met with Rakesh Rajani, Executive Director of HakiElimu (a local NGO focused on issues of transparency and education) on April 25. Rajani noted similar concerns including the lack of harsh penalties for corruption crimes (maximum 5 year imprisonment),and the PCB's need to obtain DPP authorization to prosecute. Rajani's main concern, however, was that the Anti-Corruption bill primarily addressed prosecuting rather than preventing corruption. "The section on prevention of corruption is about half a page," Rajani said, adding, "worldwide studies reveal the difficulty of attacking corruption after it has been committed - after the horse has bolted." ¶9. (SBU) Rajani stressed that the GOT needs to focus in the future on creating the conditions to deter corruption such as increased informational requirements, institutional incentives for whistleblowers, etc. Reddick noted that there were a variety of simple mechanisms to reduce opportunities for rent seeking which could be applied. Summarizing his overriding view of the new bill, Rajani stated, "The bill constitutes only a small part of Tanzania's arsenal needed to fight corruption." Vital PCB Cases and MCA Training: -------------- ¶10. (C) In addition to legislative improvements, the Prevention of Corruption Bureau has begun investigating several large corruption cases. Hoseah revealed that the DAR ES SAL 00000677 003.2 OF 003 PCB was currently investigating three key cases: the U.K.-Tanzanian radar case, the Richmond power contract, and the Bank of Tanzania twin towers recently built in down town Dar es Salaam. Hoseah only discussed the radar case in detail, which he explained involved Tanzania's purchase of a 28 million pound radar system from a British Aerospace company (BAE). He told Reddick the deal involved a 31 percent commission which was dispersed through Barclays bank and deposited into a Swiss bank account. Without mentioning names, Hoseah said that the scandal was big and could involve officials at the highest levels of the military and Ministry of Defence. As during our previous meeting with Hoseah (reftel),he expressed concern for his personal security and informed us that he had 24 hour security at his residence. ¶11. (C) In investigating these large scale corruption cases, Hoseah noted that the new bill would empower the PCB since the law was linked to the Procurement Act. He emphasized, however, that training for the judiciary branch would be critical. Judges must be aware and understand the implications of the(nes"f~gtpHELeybdnQMQ^Q+U 2Q," Hoseah told Reddick, "it is that MCA is making a difference." Comment: -------------- ¶12. (SBU) The Anti-Corruption bill is significant in that it expands the PCB's jurisdiction to include corruption in crucial areas such as procurement. As Hoseah told Reddick, "Where there is big procurement, there is big corruption." Passage of the legislation demonstrates President Kikwete's commitment to corruption and his ability to ensure the executive branch follows his lead. In Post's view, the bill will help to sharpen the PCB's teeth and further Kikwete's anti-corruption campaign. Yet, because the Prevention of Corruption Bureau remains under the authority of the President, and its prosecution powers limited by the DPP, how hard the PCB can bite in years to come will depend almost entirely on political will within the President's Office. END COMMENT. RETZER