THE entire text of the Buzwagi gold mining contract has now been leaked onto the Internet in the wake of the intense political storm generated in Tanzania by the controversial signing of the agreement in London last February.
A PDF file of what appears to be every page of the 24-page document was posted this week on the Internet chat room Jambo Forums, creating an immediate stir amongst visitors to the popular website.
The photocopied-then-scanned document is barely readable in some sections, but contains ink-pen markings to imprint missing words and highlight some of the more controversial articles of the agreement.
Although the document was posted on the website this week, it has been 'hidden' in a folder for closed topics where those in the know can access the agreement and engage themselves in the interesting chat room debate now underway.
It is unclear how the document came to be on the web or where it originated from, but some members of the Internet forum appear to now have restricted access to its contents and are discussing them (contents) in code language.
For example, the forum members have codenamed the document as 'music' and its 24 pages are referred to as 'minutes.'
''Enjoy the music...'' said the anonymous member who first posted the document on the website under the subject 'For Your Information.'
Immediately thereafter, there was a flurry of activity in the chat room with other members posting their views on the 'Tanzanian song' that they had just downloaded and listened to.
After about 24 hours, the document was withdrawn from the website just as quietly as it had been posted there. However, this was apparently after giving all interested forum members enough time to download the document for their perusal and future reference.
An increasing number of Tanzanians both within and outside the country have of late started using Internet chat rooms to discuss latest developments here at home, where they also get to exchange views on issues and engage in file-sharing.
The original leaking of the Buzwagi contract to local newspapers early last week has already triggered off a heated nationwide debate on the various aspects of the deal, signed in mysterious circumstances in London last February by the Minister for Energy and Minerals, Nazir Karamagi, on behalf of the government and Barrick Gold Tanzania's executive general manager (operations) Gareth Taylor on behalf of Barrick Gold subsidiary company Pangea Minerals Limited.
And the agreement's subsequent posting onto the World-Wide Web appears to underscore the keen public curiosity and anticipation that has been building up ever since.
The government has traditionally preferred to keep its contracts with foreign mining companies operating in the country a closely-guarded secret, going to the extent of citing the confidentiality clause to repeatedly deny even members of parliament access to such sensitive agreements.
The country's political opposition camp has been particularly critical of the Buzwagi contract, asserting that there were irregularities in the circumstances behind its signing and the contents of the agreement itself.
The government, on the other hand, has issued a belated statement asserting that the contract signed in a London hotel was clean.
On his part, the man at the centre of the entire political storm - minister Karamagi - has opted to maintain a tight-lipped stance, declining comment on the deal or his own role in it.