The sale of an expensive British military air traffic control system to Tanzania, one of the world’s poorest countries, is to be condemned in a report by the World Bank, newspapers reported on Friday.
Critics argue Tanzania could have bought an alternative, civilian system for a fraction of the 28-million pounds demanded by British aerospace giant BAE Systems.
Prime Minister Tony Blair is reported to have overruled objections from cabinet colleagues to allow the sale to go ahead.
The World Bank is now set to issue a ”pretty damning” verdict on the deal, papers reported.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has been appointed by the bank to examine the system.
Its interim findings suggest the system will not even cover all of Tanzania’s civil aviation needs, according to The Times, a right-of-centre broadsheet.
The decision to grant BAE Systems an export license for its product provoked a fierce row in December, with both International Development Secretary Clare Short and Finance Minister Gordon Brown opposing the move.
Norman Lamb, international development representative for Britain’s small opposition Liberal Democrat party, has conducted his own investigation into the sale, and said he intended to call on the police to probe the sale.
”I have been told that the International Civil Aviation Organisation report paints a damning picture of this deal,” he told The Guardian, a left-of-centre British daily.
”It is no surprise that the Tanzanian government have reacted with horror to the report and are delaying publication.
”The Department of Trade and Industry, with the apparent support of the prime minister, has colluded with British Aerospace … in foisting an expensive and unnecessary arms deal on the desperately poor people of Tanzania,” Baker added. — Sapa-AFP