Speech by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, His Excellency Benjamin William Mkapa, at a State Banquet in Honour of the Governor-General of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honourable Romeo Le Blanc, Dar Es Salaam Sheraton, 18th February, 1999

Your Excellency The Governor-General of Canada
and Madame LeBlanc;
Honourable Ministers;
Honourable Senators and Members of Parliament;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Governor-General and Madame LeBlanc,
Let me do what all Tanzanians do when someone pays them a visit. They say to the visitor, "Karibu sana", - meaning, "You are most welcome!" Normally, a Tanzanian would add, "Jisikie nyumbani tafadhali", - meaning, "Please feel at home." But I was once told a story, the authenticity of which I cannot vouch for, of a guest who became furious on being asked to "feel at home". He said, "Look, the point of my being here is to forget the problems I have at home; how can you now ask me again to feel at home?"

But for you, Governor-General and Madame LeBlanc, I feel confident to ask you to feel at home for two reasons. Firstly, because I value greatly the fact that you made Tanzania an important stop in your visit to Africa. Secondly, the information I have is that on all fronts: diplomatic, social, political and economic, Canada is doing quite well, so you cannot have any reason not to want to feel at home! I cannot, unfortunately, promise you snowfall, but I guarantee you an outpouring of the warmth of our people for you.

Mr. Governor-General,
Canada is a good and old friend of Tanzania; it is a friendship we in Tanzania relish and cherish. Among the most liked and respected missionaries in Tanzania have always been the White Fathers from Canada, now called Missionaries for Africa, that built the foundations of Canada-Tanzania relations way back in the 1920s.

At our independence, Canada opened its High Commission in Dar es Salaam making it the oldest Canadian diplomatic mission in East Africa. Since then, all round relations and co-operation were deliberately built and strengthened, and I am glad to have been able to personally make a contribution to this process when serving as Tanzania's High Commissioner to Canada in the early 1980s.

Regrettably, I did not stay in Canada as long as I would have wished; but I still have fond memories of the 1982 winter. In welcoming you for this short visit to our country, I hope you will leave with good and lasting memories of the 1999 Tanzanian summer!

Yes, 1999 is here and our thoughts are catapulted to the new century and millennium. It is time to think of how relations between rich and poor countries should be in the future; a time to build on the experiences and lessons of the past, including that of the last 3-4 decades of development assistance.

Tanzania remains grateful for Canada's development assistance, assistance which has helped our institutions perform better, and which has improved the lives of men and women of this country. Canada has over the years contributed quite significantly to official development assistance, through bilateral programmes and through multilateral institutions. The economic problems you faced in the first half of the 1990s forced you to cut back on ODA, but we are encouraged to hear that after the recent successive years of positive growth, a commitment has been made to begin moving again towards the U.N. target of contributing 0.7% of GNP toward ODA, while improving the effectiveness of your aid. We are pleased to hear that and we encourage you on both fronts.

At our level of economic development, we still need the sustained support of richer countries. But we know we cannot continue for too long to depend on aid. There must be something we both can do to bring more value to our relations; to transform them from a donor-recipient relationship, to a mutually rewarding partnership that involves private people and enterprises, and non-governmental organisations.

That is why I am so glad you brought with you Canadian investors and business people. I have been encouraged to learn that Canadian direct investments in Africa have increased almost four times over the last ten years, especially in mining. We are glad to see in your delegation familiar names of Canadian companies which have worked in Tanzania for several years now.

Mr. Governor-General,
Names such as Sutton Resources, SAMAX, Antrim, CANOP, Ocelot, Trans-Canada Pipelines, Dublin International, Pangea, Tan Range, East Africa Company, Placer Dome, and many others are not only illustrative of the expanding co-operation between Canada and Tanzania, but they have helped to market Tanzania, in Canada and elsewhere, as a worthwhile investment destination. We thank them for their trust, and we hope more will come.

We are also pleased to receive among your delegation, Honourable Members of the Senate and of Parliament, as well as representatives from the civil society and non-governmental organisations. Tanzania needs and welcomes the friendship and co-operation of the entire spectrum of Canadian polity and society.

Tanzania is in the middle of multi-faceted reforms on many fronts. In carrying out these reforms, Canada has been among the countries we looked to for lessons and for support. The thriving, healthy and peaceful political pluralism in Canada is certainly to be commended, and it provides a good lesson for us.

Your Excellency,
Allow me to touch briefly on Africa in view of the many conflicts that are going on. It is probable that these conflicts are threatening the progress that had been made by many countries and are once again portraying Africa as a war-torn continent. But Africa has made big strides in many other areas. Democracy has taken root in many countries. Management of our economies has improved. A new breed of leaders who believe in democracy, good governance, human rights, the rule of law, and an unwavering commitment to owning Africa's development process, have taken the reigns of power and are charting the future of our continent.

This is the Africa that the outside world needs to see, appreciate, and assist to grow. But even as we are encouraged by developments in Nigeria - and we really need to congratulate and encourage Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar - we are not blind to the serious setbacks in places like Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia/ Eritrea, Congo-Kinshasa, Angola and so on. As Africa struggles to find solutions to these intra- and inter-state conflicts we will continue to count on the support of the international community. I am glad Canada has been so helpful, and we are pleased you have been elected to the UN Security Council.

Your Excellency,
The situation in the Great Lakes remains volatile and precarious. The war in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to be of great concern to us. The number of refugees and other displaced persons continues to increase. This has placed an enormous burden on countries like Tanzania who have to host refugees. We appreciate the work done by international agencies, NGOs and donor governments, like that of Canada, in providing assistance to the refugees and other displaced persons, and the communities hosting them.

Your Excellency,
Once again, thank you for visiting us. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to renew our commitment to work with you, bilaterally and within the Commonwealth and the United Nations, to create a better world, and ensure a dignified existence to all the people of the world. We have done this before and we can continue to do so. During the difficult days of decolonisation and the anti-apartheid struggle, we always counted Canada among the ranks fighting on the diplomatic front to end such injustices, and we commend and thank you. Recently you led international efforts to ban land-mines, and we supported and worked with you; Tanzania eventually becoming a signatory to the ensuing treaty and has now begun the process of ratification. We congratulate you for that success, and we assure you of our continuing partnership in bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual concern. Working together, in revitalised partnership, we shall succeed.

Talking of partnerships reminds me of the story I heard of a Sea Captain and his Chief Engineer. They argued as to which of them was the more important to the ship. Failing to agree, they decided to swap places.

The Chief Engineer ascended to the bridge, and the Captain descended to the engine room. After a couple of hours the Captain emerged suddenly on the deck, covered with soot and oil.

"Chief", he yelled, wildly waving aloft a monkey wrench. "You'll have to come down here; I can't make 'er go!"

"Of course you can't", replied the Chief. "We're aground!".

Mr. Governor-General,
Whether as Captain or Chief Engineer, I wouldn't want to swap places with you, nor I am sure would you. But together, in partnership, we can make the ship of our relations of friendship and co-operation sail into the waters of the 21st century smoothly; and I'd like to drink to that. So I invite all of you present to rise and join me in a toast:


- To the health of our Guests, His Excellency Governor-General and Madame LeBlanc;

- To continued friendship and co-operation between Canada and Tanzania.