Tanzania (Hansard, 28 November 1979)

§ 51. Mr. Alexander W. Lyon
asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will give extra aid to Tanzania to allow for costs of removing Idi Amin from Uganda.

§ Mr. Hurd
No, Sir.

§ Mr. Lyon
As the Tanzanian economy was doing well before Amin invaded the country, and as the removal of Amin was welcomed by all the countries in the world, why is it that the British Government, along with many other Western Governments, have refused to help to pay for the cost of removing him?

§ Mr. Hurd
I think that the answer is very simple. We can all feel a certain relief that President Amin has gone. However, it does not follow that aid programmes financed by the British taxpayer should be increased to finance the military enterprises of another Government.

§ Mr. Fletcher-Cooke
What would be the cost of removing Tanzania from Uganda? Will we be expected to pay for that?

§ Mr. Hurd
I do not think that that is a question for me.

§ Mr. Russell Johnston
If it is true, as the hon. Member for York (Mr. Lyon) said a moment ago, that all countries in the world welcomed the removal of Field Marshal Amin, where is he now?

§ Mr. Hurd
Not, I trust, in this country.

§ Dame Judith Hart
Will the Minister, given his replies this afternoon, confirm that a generous aid programme for Tanzania will continue despite the attack made upon the Tanzanian Goverment by Lonrho recently? Will he confirm in that respect that the Foreign Office and the Overseas Development Administration have received a communication from Cooper Lybrand in Tanzania to explain that it dissociates itself from the recent Lonrho attacks on Tanzania and say that its own audit has not yet been completed?

§ Mr. Hurd
Our total aid last year to Tanzania was about £14 million and we would expect it to be slightly higher this year. We are reviewing the whole of our aid programme, as the right hon. Lady knows. Decisions will be taken and will be announced to the House. They will not be influenced by the Lonrho company.

§ Mr. W. Benyon
Will my hon. Friend look very critically at aid to Tanzania as long as she maintains a blockage on her borders with Kenya through both Tanzania and Uganda?

§ Mr. Hurd
Because of our economic circumstances we are having to look critically at the whole distribution of our bilateral aid programme. There are many factors which must be considered in the case of a country such as Tanzania. However, I think that it is in the interests of this country that Tanzania should have stability and reasonable economic progress.