Maswali na majibu Press Conference ya Obama na Kikwete, JK never answeres the question

Q: And to President Kikwete, did you discuss with President Obama the Tanzanian diplomat who was stationed in Washington, D.C. and fined a million dollars for holding a woman against her will as a domestic servant? Is this person still an advisor to you, and does this issue in any way undercut your ability to fight human trafficking in your great country? Thank you, to both of you.

A: President Kikwete

Yes, I am aware of a situation in Washington that involved one of our diplomats who later we recalled. This incident involves a young sister of the wife of this diplomat.

They took her with them to help her get education and support -- make it in life. And then I think there was a conflict within the family, and then this young lady accused the brother-in-law and the sister of using her for cheap labor.

The court decided on a one million fine, an amount which, for a Tanzanian, there is no way that he can afford to pay. See, even the President here -- the President -- when I retire, my retirement benefits cannot pay that, because we get far less. Then, I think there was reconsideration for this gentleman to pay $175,000, which, as far as I know, has already been paid. So that matter has been put to rest.

Q: President Obama, President Kikwete, thank you very much. President Obama, the first question goes to you, and I want to get your reaction to a breaking news alert that just came in a few minutes ago. According to Reuters, a senior Russian security official says that you and President Putin have asked the FBI and FSB to seek a solution on Snowden, so can you confirm that report?

Also, the latest leaks by Edward Snowden suggest the United States have been monitoring the phone and email records of its allies in the EU. So is the United States spying on its European allies? Also, France and other countries are demanding an explanation with France saying that free trade talks could be threatened. So how can you reassure your allies to make sure that free trade talks aren't threatened and that your relations abroad are not threatened? And what will the federal response be to the 19 firefighters who were killed in Arizona? Thank you.

And to President Kikwete, did you discuss with President Obama the Tanzanian diplomat who was stationed in Washington, D.C. and fined a million dollars for holding a woman against her will as a domestic servant? Is this person still an advisor to you, and does this issue in any way undercut your ability to fight human trafficking in your great country? Thank you, to both of you.

A: President Obama

Well, I can confirm -- because I said so I think at the beginning of this trip in one of the first questions that was asked -- that we have gone through regular law enforcement channels in enforcing the extradition request that we've made with respect to Mr. Snowden. And that’s been true with all the countries that have been involved, including Russia. And so, there have been high-level discussions with the Russians about trying to find a solution to the problem.

We don't have an extradition treaty with Russia. On the other hand, Mr. Snowden, we understand, has traveled there without a valid passport, without legal papers. And we are hopeful that the Russian government makes decisions based on the normal procedures regarding international travel and the normal interactions that law enforcement have. So I can confirm that.

With respect to the latest article that in part I gather is prompted by Mr. Snowden's leaks, we're still evaluating the article because the problem is that these things come out in dribs and drabs. We don't know necessarily what programs they're referring to, we don’t know how they're sourced. And so, what I've said is, to my team, take a look at this article, figure out what they may or may not be talking about, and then what we'll do is we'll communicate to our allies appropriately.

But I'll make some general points. So I'm not going to comment on any particular allegation, but I'll make a couple of general points. Number one, the Europeans are some of the closest allies that we have in the world. And we work with them on everything, and we share intelligence constantly. And our primary concerns are the various security threats that may have an impact on both our countries.

The initial two programs that were of concern as a consequence of the Snowden leak had to do with a very particular issue, and that is, were we going around snooping and reading people's emails and listening to people's phone calls, whether that was in the United States or in Europe. And I responded to that when I was in Europe, in Germany, explaining that one program had to do with telephone numbers that were exchanged without content. The other was very narrowly tailored to deal with threats like terrorism, proliferation -- and that all of this was done legally and under the supervision of the FISA Court. So that's one set of issues.

Now, there's a second set of issues that this article seems to be raising, and that is how our intelligence services operate generally around the world. And I think we should stipulate that every intelligence service -- not just ours, but every European intelligence service, every Asian intelligence service, wherever there's an intelligence service -- here's one thing that they're going to be doing: they're going to be trying to understand the world better and what's going on in world capitals around the world from sources that aren't available through the New York Times or NBC News; that they are seeking additional insight beyond what's available through open sources.

And if that weren't the case, then there would be no use for an intelligence service. And I guarantee you that in European capitals, there are people who are interested in, if not what I had for breakfast, at least what my talking points might be should I end up meeting with their leaders. That's how intelligence services operate.

So I don't know what is precisely in this article. I've asked my team and the NSA to evaluate everything that's being claimed. When we have an answer, we will make sure to provide all the information that our allies want and what exactly the allegations have been.

But I can -- here's one last thing I'll say. I'm the end user of this kind of intelligence. And if I want to know what Chancellor Merkel is thinking, I will call Chancellor Merkel. If I want to know what President Hollande is thinking on a particular issue, I'll call President Hollande. If I want to know what David Cameron is thinking, I'll call David Cameron. Ultimately, we work so closely together that there's almost no information that's not shared between our various countries.

But I do think it's important for everybody analytically to separate this issue, which is how our intelligence service is gathering information about the world versus the particular programs that were initially the cause of this controversy, which I was responding to when I was in Germany.

Q: And the wildfires?

A: President Obama

Oh, thank you. See, this is what happens when I've got too many questions. Obviously, the news is heartbreaking. And our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the brave firefighters who are out there.

This is one more reminder of the fact that our first responders, they put their lives on the line every single day. And every time we have a community in crisis, a disaster strikes, we've got people in need -- firefighters, law enforcement officers, they run towards the danger. And so we are heartbroken about what happened. Obviously, we're prepared to provide any support we can in investigating exactly how this took place.

I think we're going to have to ask ourselves a set of broader questions about how we're handling increasingly deadly and difficult firefights. Wildfires have been continually escalating at higher and higher cost, and putting more and more pressure not only the federal fire services, but also on state and local fire services. And we're going to have to think about what more we can do on that front. But for now, I think what we're most concerned about is how painful these losses are.

Q: My question to President Obama -- Mr. President, there has been no peace in Congo for almost 20 years now. As a powerful nation in the world and a permanent member of the Security Council with a lot of influence to major players of the Congo conflict, how is the U.S. going to assist the DRC and Great Lakes to reach a permanent peace? Thank you. 


A: President Obama


Well, the people of Congo need a chance. They need a fair chance to live their lives, raise their families. And they haven't had that opportunity because of constant conflict and war for way too many years. And of course, the tragedy is compounded by the fact that Congo is so rich in natural resources and potential, but because of this constant conflict and instability, the people of Congo haven't benefitted from that. 

I want to congratulate, again, President Kikwete and others who have helped to shape a peace framework. Because one of the things that I've said throughout this trip is, the United States doesn’t seek to impose solutions on Africa. We want to work with Africans to find solutions to some of these ongoing security and regional problems.

And so, the fact that you now have a peace framework that the various parties have signed onto is critical. But it can't just be a piece of paper; there has to be follow-through. And so, one of the things that I discussed with President Kikwete is how we can encourage all the parties concerned to follow through on commitments that they've made in order to bring about a lasting solution inside of Congo. That means, for example, that President Kabila inside of Congo, he has to do more and better when it comes to dealing with the DRC's capacity on security issues and delivery of services. And that’s very important, because if there's a continuing vacuum there, then that vacuum sometimes gets filled by actors that don’t have the best interests of Congo at heart. And we're prepared to work the United Nations and regional organizations and others to help him build capacity.

The countries surrounding the Congo, they've got to make commitments to stop funding armed groups that are encroaching on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Congo. And they've signed onto a piece of paper now, now the question is do they follow through. 

And so, we're prepared to work with anybody to try to make this happen. Ultimately, though, the countries involved have to recognize it is in their self-interest to do so. We can't force a solution onto the region. The peoples of the region have to stand up and say that’s enough; it's time to move forward in a different way. And, by the way, that means holding those who've committed gross human rights abuses accountable for what they've done.

But there's an opportunity for peace here. And the countries surrounding the Congo should recognize that if the Congo stabilizes, that will improve the prospects for their growth and their prosperity, because right now, it's as if you have a millstone around your neck. If you have one of the biggest countries in terms of geography in all of Africa with all these natural resources, but it's constantly a problem as opposed to being part of the solution, everybody suffers. 

Tanzania should be doing more trade with the DRC. Rwanda should be doing more trade and commerce with the DRC. One of the things we're talking about it how do we get more inter-Africa trade, because if countries like Tanzania are going to improve their economic position in the globe, the first thing they have to do is to make sure they can trade with each other more effectively. 

Right now, in Africa -- this is true not just in Tanzania, but in Kenya and Uganda and other places -- it's easier to send flowers or coffee to Europe than it is to send it across the way. And that means that fewer businesses are getting started and fewer jobs are being created.

So we want to work with the existing international structures like the United Nations, and we're supportive of the brigade that’s been shaped and in which Tanzania is making a contribution. But ultimately, it's going to be the African countries themselves that have to follow up on the commitments that they've already made.

Q: My name is Peter Ambilikile from Jambo Leo Newspaper. My question is from both of you, starting with President Obama. President Obama, are you satisfied with the aid that your country provides to Tanzania, especially the MCC?



A: President Obama:

Well, not only do I think that what we're doing is important, but we have proof that U.S. assistance is making a difference. Because of our programs, you've reduced incidents of malaria. Because of our programs, you've reduced child and infant mortality. Because of our programs, there are roads that are being built here; farmers are seeing crops with better yields and are better able to get them to market because of new roads. 

The MCC I think has been so successful here in Tanzania that phase one is near completion, and I know that Tanzania is going to be eligible for applying for phase two. And when it comes to Power Africa, the new program that I'm announcing, I think there's enormous potential here in Tanzania to start getting electricity out into villages in rural areas, more reliable service that can then power manufacturing, power new businesses which creates more jobs, creates more demand. And we can do it using clean energy and not just some of the traditional sources.

Now, what I would say is -- and I've said this throughout Africa -- we are looking at a new model that’s based not just on aid and assistance, but on trade and partnership. And increasingly, what we want to do is use whatever monies that we're providing to build capacity. So we don’t want to just provide the medicine, we want to help build the health infrastructures that allow Tanzanians to improve their overall health systems. 

We don’t want to just provide food, we want to increase food self-sufficiency. When it comes to power, we're not just building power plants ourselves -- we're working with the various governments that are involved to think about what are the laws and regulations that are required to sustain it, and how do we leverage the private sector to put more money in. So we're coming up with $7, $8 billion of U.S. government money on our Power Africa program but we're also already obtaining about $9 billion worth of commitments from the private sector. 

So ultimately, the goal here is for Africa to build Africa for Africans. And our job is to be a partner in that process, and Tanzania has been one of our best partners.



Peter Ambilikile:
 Second question goes to President Kikwete. Do you believe that U.S.A. is doing enough to support our country, Tanzania? That’s all, thanks.



A:President Kikwete


I... I think the... the issue of satisfied with MCC should have com... should have been asked me.

MCC has been great assistance from the United States government to the people of Tanzania.

There are three.... three... three sectors here. There is the road sector. And the good thing about the MCC is that we decide on the..... on the areas or sectors that we need assistance. But even we decide on where. For example in the case of roads. There are roads that we spo.... we talked to many donors, who were not ready to support us. But when... when you said there is going to be support on roads I said "Let's try these roads, let's see what the American are going to say." The American said fine, if you think you need these roads fine, we will give you the money.

Those fellow Tanzanians know Namtumbo-Songea-Mbinga, Tunduma-Sumbawanga, Tanga-Horohoro, the roads in Pemba. But we chose those roads because, these roads are actually in our bread basket area. This is where we get the corn: Ruvuma, Rukwa and Mbeya. 

We decide.. we chose the US to assist us to increase water supply in Dar es Salaam. It is our decision. The project is now being implemented.

With electricity we said, one of our biggest problems is access to electricity for people in the rural areas. The US said fine. We have m m .. in grid 10 regions of Tanzania. Coverage of electricity has increased from 10% to 21%, is phenomenal increase.

So I want to underscore the fact that I am satisfied with the support from MCC.

Is US doing enough? The US has done a lot, but if I say they have done enough, then the President will not listen to my new requests... hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa

But so far so good.

Deaths from malaria has.... have declined by over 50%, infant mortality rates have declined, HIV infections have declined. Through PMTCT (Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission) more children born by HIV infected mothers are born free of the disease. More people now... 

The US has supported us now with over 2 million books. And today I asked the president we want another 2.4 million and he said we will ... to .... and I see from their face that they are in agreement with the president. So that when it comes to science and mathematics books, we will have every Tanzanian child .. have a book of his or her own, instead of the ratios that we are talking today 5 to 1 now reduced to 3 to 1. So the list is endless.

We have a lot of support, we are very appreciative, we are very thankful, it has really helped changing the lives of our people.

But if they can do more, please.