International agency Oxfam, who broke the news of the Tanzania Air Traffic Control Story to the media in 2001, welcomed the news that BAE have been charged \u00a330m for improper behaviour around the sale of a Watchman Air Traffic Control System to Tanzania.<\/p>\n
In response to the news, Anna MacDonald, Control Arms Campaign Manager, said:<\/p>\n
“This deal was a disaster for development from beginning to end.\u00a0 We believe it was the wrong system meeting the wrong needs for Tanzania and should never have been allowed to go ahead.\u00a0 The charge highlights the inappropriateness of the deal. The \u00a330m for charity is helpful, however too often arms sales are allowed to proceed without appropriate scrutiny.\u00a0 The current negotiations within the UN for a global Arms Trade Treaty need to ensure that the treaty has a criteria that will prevent irresponsible arms transfers such as this. Deals like this risk undermining development by wasting funds on inappropriate and unaccountable arms sales. The $40m that was spent on this system could have provided healthcare for 3.5 million people in Tanzania.”<\/p>\n
ENDS<\/p>\n