MPs were on Monday surprised to learn that the government had failed to pay its annual fees for eight years now to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
Speaking during 2012/13-budget debate for the ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, which coordinates the APRM in Tanzania, the shadow minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr Ezekiel Wenje, said Tanzania had not paid its annual fees of $100,000 per annum for eight years now is in arrears of $800,000 (Sh1.28 billion). “The government should tell us if it is committed to governance issues.
“Despite insufficient budget allocated for the national APRM office, the country owes $800,000 to the continental APRM office. While our country lags behind, countries like Mozambique, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda have paid their fees and are performing better in the governance assessment than this country which has a unique history in African politics,” said MP Wenje.
The Opposition also demanded the country’s report on governance prepared by the APRM Tanzania to be tabled before the National Assembly. Responding to this, the minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr Bernard Membe, said the arrears were occasioned by current arrangements in which all annual fee obligations were paid directly from the Treasury.
“We wrote to them outlining this obligation and they have started paying other outstanding contributions than APRM’s. We have already disbursed, for example, to the East African Community (EAC).
We hope in this fiscal year, the APRM arrears will be settled,” promised the minister.APRM was launched in 2003 to assess governance among African Union (AU) member states to foster development in political and democratic development, economic management, corporate governance and socio-economic development.
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