Norwegian envoy denies financing Karume, Hamad deal

Norwegian envoy denies financing Karume, Hamad deal

"What is needed is not constitutional engineering to postpone elections, but consistent efforts to build confidence" Mr John Lomoy
NORWEGIAN embassy has denied allegations that it bankrolled a recent political agreement between the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), and Zanzibar’s main opposition, Civic United Front (CUF) allegedly because its companies were interested in extracting petroleum in a stable environment.

Norwegian Ambassador to Tanzania John Lomoy said in a statement today that his country paid tribute to Chama Cha Mapinduzi and CUF after Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume had a meeting with his bitterest rival, Seif Shariff Hamad.

“We do not finance political parties, and we have not given any financial support to CCM nor to CUF,” Ambassador Lomoy said in a statement while responding to ‘Daily News’ questions on reports that the Scandinavian country bankrolled the deal.

Mr Lomoy expressed hope that the momentum built after the CUF Secretary General met President Karume and the opposition party’s official position to recognise the later as legitimate Zanzibar head of state, will lead to a binding agreement.

Norway has been in the forefront in encouraging CUF and CCM to reconcile after the disputed 2005 general election results which Karume won a second term in an election whose results were rejected by the opposition and international observers.

“We hope and trust that the two leaders and their parties will have the courage to take the process forward, and institutionalise a new political culture in Zanzibar,” Lomoy underlined.

Norway has also been a strong development partner to the Spice islands assisting in funding several infrastructure projects including the ongoing submarine electric cable to supply Pemba with national grid electricity from Pangani in Tanga.

On reports that Norway was allegedly interested in drilling petroleum off the coast of Pemba, the ambassador said so far there has been no confirmed interest from any companies from Oslo.

So far only one Norwegian company is involved in oil exploration in Tanzania, Statoilhydro. The company has a concession for an offshore block in southern coastal regions of the country.

“I am not aware that they – or other Norwegian oil companies – have expressed any interest in Zanzibar.

Should they do so, they will have to compete on normal commercial terms with other companies for concessions, in accordance with Tanzanian laws and regulations,” Ambassador Lomoy said.

Source:dailynew