MwanaFalsafa1
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 26, 2008
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Perege Gumbo
The Swiss government was waiting for a request from the Tanzanian judicial system to help hunt and seize any money obtained through corrupt means and deposited in Swiss banks.
Swiss Ambassador to the country, Adrian Schlapfer confirmed the readiness in an exclusive interview with The Guardian when responding to socio-economic issues over the Tanzania-Swiss bilateral relations at the weekend.
He said gone are the days when Switzerland was considered a safe haven for money obtained illegally by criminals.
Im optimistic that the government is serious and has appropriate plans to bring before the court of law people responsible for grand corruption and we can, if proved to exist, hunt and seize their money deposited in Swiss banks, Schlapfer said.
The ambassadors comments come a few days after some members of parliament spoke bitterly that the government lacked seriousness in bringing to account people accused of involvement in grand corruption.
The MPs criticised the government saying it was only dealing with small corruption incidents leaving the grand corrupt people untouched.
However, the envoy said he was inspired by the democratic maturity and separation of powers reached by Tanzania, evidenced by open discussion and hot debates over pertinent issues in the parliament.
He said Switzerlands promise to cooperate with the international community-Tanzania included, to seize money obtained corruptly and deposited in her banks emanated from the reality that fighting the vice needed international dedication and cooperation.
Schlapfer said that Transparency International recently expressed concern over low international response to implementation of the International Convention on Corruption they had signed.
According to Transparency International, out of the 36 countries that had signed the convention all over the world, only 4 (Switzerland included) have shown tangible progress in effectively putting the convention to practice.
Explaining the areas in which his government has been collaborating with Tanzania and possibility of expanding the scope, he said the relations were in trade and diversified fields.
The ambassador said the Swiss focus now was to help the government as well as the private sector improve the agricultural sector.
He said Switzerland was instrumental in forming the Rural Livelihood Development Company (RLDC) aimed at helping people from grassroots to higher levels improve value chain in production, processing and marketing both in domestic and external markets.
He said that in order to assist the rural population improve their living standards, it was essential to have strong partnership between private and public sectors particularly by guaranteeing the rule of law, reviewing regulations and promoting business efficiency.
THE GUARDIAN
The Swiss government was waiting for a request from the Tanzanian judicial system to help hunt and seize any money obtained through corrupt means and deposited in Swiss banks.
Swiss Ambassador to the country, Adrian Schlapfer confirmed the readiness in an exclusive interview with The Guardian when responding to socio-economic issues over the Tanzania-Swiss bilateral relations at the weekend.
He said gone are the days when Switzerland was considered a safe haven for money obtained illegally by criminals.
Im optimistic that the government is serious and has appropriate plans to bring before the court of law people responsible for grand corruption and we can, if proved to exist, hunt and seize their money deposited in Swiss banks, Schlapfer said.
The ambassadors comments come a few days after some members of parliament spoke bitterly that the government lacked seriousness in bringing to account people accused of involvement in grand corruption.
The MPs criticised the government saying it was only dealing with small corruption incidents leaving the grand corrupt people untouched.
However, the envoy said he was inspired by the democratic maturity and separation of powers reached by Tanzania, evidenced by open discussion and hot debates over pertinent issues in the parliament.
He said Switzerlands promise to cooperate with the international community-Tanzania included, to seize money obtained corruptly and deposited in her banks emanated from the reality that fighting the vice needed international dedication and cooperation.
Schlapfer said that Transparency International recently expressed concern over low international response to implementation of the International Convention on Corruption they had signed.
According to Transparency International, out of the 36 countries that had signed the convention all over the world, only 4 (Switzerland included) have shown tangible progress in effectively putting the convention to practice.
Explaining the areas in which his government has been collaborating with Tanzania and possibility of expanding the scope, he said the relations were in trade and diversified fields.
The ambassador said the Swiss focus now was to help the government as well as the private sector improve the agricultural sector.
He said Switzerland was instrumental in forming the Rural Livelihood Development Company (RLDC) aimed at helping people from grassroots to higher levels improve value chain in production, processing and marketing both in domestic and external markets.
He said that in order to assist the rural population improve their living standards, it was essential to have strong partnership between private and public sectors particularly by guaranteeing the rule of law, reviewing regulations and promoting business efficiency.
THE GUARDIAN
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