EU TO GIVE TANZANIA 800BN/-BUDGET SUPPORT

Swedish Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Lennarth Hjelmaker

The European Union (EU) has committed over 500 million US dollars (about 800bn/-) in General Budget Support (GBS) in the forthcoming 2013/14 financial year, the Swedish Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Lennarth Hjelmaker, has said.

Mr Hjelmaker, who is also the EU chairperson for this year’s GBS, said this in Dar es Salaam in an event to launch the EU Week celebrations.

“The EU will continue to extend its general budget support to the government of Tanzania and in the forthcoming financial year we will contribute 562 million US dollars,” he said.

According to the Head of the EU Delegation, Ambassador Filiberto Sebregondi, between 2006 and 2011 development partners (14 in total) have made resources contribution of almost 5,000 million US dollars.

“Contributions we have been making in the year between 2006 and 2011 represents an annual average disbursement of 694 million US dollars or 16 dollars per annum per head of the Tanzanian population,” he said.

He added that during the period the EU Commission, UK, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Germany) contributed 53 per cent or 2,578.3 million US dollars. He added that the EU was a unique economic and political partner, involving 27 democratic European states and the world’s largest contributor of official aid to Africa.

He said plans were underway to increase its contributions to Africa in the future. Meanwhile, the EU will today launch its weeklong activities to mark the EU Week where various projects touching on people’s lives are expected to be launched.

By HILDA MHAGAMA, Tanzania Daily News