Switzerland all ready to help on EPA funds
By Guardian Reporter
Switzerland has offered to help the Bank of Tanzania get back any money swindled from its external payment arrears (EPA) account and moved to the European country.
The newly arrived Swiss Ambassador to Tanzania, Adrian Schlaepfer, told this paper in a recent interview in Dar es Salaam that his country was committed to working closely with Tanzania on the issue.
``Corruption is a development killer and we are committed to helping the Tanzanian government recover any money that was illegally gained and may have been moved abroad, including to my country,`` he said.
The envoy said recent reports of scandals and the way state organs, particularly Parliament, had handled them had shown Tanzania as a beacon of stability and good governance.
He noted that the way the scandals were being handled also showed that democracy and good governance were working in Tanzania.
Ambassador Schlaepfer explained that, contrary to the prevailing stereotype about the Swiss financial system, his country had stringent legislation making it impossible for stolen assets to be hidden away in banks there.
The envoy said, corruption was, naturally, a big concern to Swiss tax payers, who ultimately pay for the country`s ambassadors` development work.
``They want to be assured that their money is used properly and reaches those in need,`` he stressed.
Meanwhile, he also underlined the need for foreign diplomats on assignment in developing countries to disabuse themselves of what he called a one-sided perception and start going out to meet people.
He said it was important for expatriates from developed countries ``to visit as much of the country as possible and learn at first hand about how best to work with ordinary Tanzanian partners to reduce poverty``.
The ambassador, who spent most of his career as an aid specialist before assuming his present responsibilities, said he has chosen for himself to show the way by touring Ifakara - one of Morogoro Region`s peripheral district centers.
He said he saw Tanzania having great potential and significant natural and human resources as well as standing out as being stable and peaceful and an African showcase.
The country still needs massive financial resources to cope with widespread poverty, he pointed out, cautioning that efficiency and effectiveness of aid were not necessarily a matter of size.
- SOURCE: Guardian
Comments