Posted Monday, September 28 2009 at 08:00
With the Obama administration having sent off Kenya for corruption and impunity, Tanzania has emerged as East Africa's star player on the US pitch.
It was Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete rather than Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga who commanded the spotlight in New York at last week's opening sessions of the United Nations General Assembly.
The Tanzanian head of state was asked to initiate a discussion at a luncheon hosted by US President Barack Obama.
He outlined African agricultural issues at the two-hour meeting to which 24 African leaders had been invited.
Mr Odinga was not among them.
In a move humiliating to Kenya, the United States withdrew the prime minister's invitation to the Obama luncheon, with American officials later attributing the reversal to a technical error.
But it seems clear that Obama and his team are keeping their distance from Kenya's leaders as a signal of US displeasure over the Grand Coalition's failure to attack graft and to hold accountable those responsible for the killings following the 2007 election.
President Kikwete was meanwhile heaping praise on the US government, unveiling a pan-African anti-malaria initiative, pledging to commit more troops to UN peacekeeping efforts, and preparing for his featured role at a corporate conference in Washington next week.
In comments on the sidelines of last week's UN sessions, President Kikwete described Tanzanians as "grateful recipients of generous support from the government and people of the United States."
He was referring to the five-year, $700 million development package awarded to Tanzania in 2008 through the Millennium Challenge programme.
It is the single largest of $6.9 billion in anti-poverty grants that the US has given to 19 countries since the inception of the conditioned aid initiative in 2004.
President Kikwete also orchestrated a gathering of several African leaders at the UN to announce formation of an alliance dedicated to halting the scourge of malaria within five years
For more on the story go to The East African.
Well sometimes we have to give credit to the guy he is doing his best to promote our country. Kenyans have been at the centre of the stage for so long now i think it is our turn.
Brave Mr Jakaya Kikwete
With the Obama administration having sent off Kenya for corruption and impunity, Tanzania has emerged as East Africa's star player on the US pitch.
It was Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete rather than Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga who commanded the spotlight in New York at last week's opening sessions of the United Nations General Assembly.
The Tanzanian head of state was asked to initiate a discussion at a luncheon hosted by US President Barack Obama.
He outlined African agricultural issues at the two-hour meeting to which 24 African leaders had been invited.
Mr Odinga was not among them.
In a move humiliating to Kenya, the United States withdrew the prime minister's invitation to the Obama luncheon, with American officials later attributing the reversal to a technical error.
But it seems clear that Obama and his team are keeping their distance from Kenya's leaders as a signal of US displeasure over the Grand Coalition's failure to attack graft and to hold accountable those responsible for the killings following the 2007 election.
President Kikwete was meanwhile heaping praise on the US government, unveiling a pan-African anti-malaria initiative, pledging to commit more troops to UN peacekeeping efforts, and preparing for his featured role at a corporate conference in Washington next week.
In comments on the sidelines of last week's UN sessions, President Kikwete described Tanzanians as "grateful recipients of generous support from the government and people of the United States."
He was referring to the five-year, $700 million development package awarded to Tanzania in 2008 through the Millennium Challenge programme.
It is the single largest of $6.9 billion in anti-poverty grants that the US has given to 19 countries since the inception of the conditioned aid initiative in 2004.
President Kikwete also orchestrated a gathering of several African leaders at the UN to announce formation of an alliance dedicated to halting the scourge of malaria within five years
For more on the story go to The East African.
Well sometimes we have to give credit to the guy he is doing his best to promote our country. Kenyans have been at the centre of the stage for so long now i think it is our turn.
Brave Mr Jakaya Kikwete
