Parliament divided over Daily Mail report

                 Athuman Rashid Mfutakamba, the deputy chairperson of the parliamentary group

THE parliament is a House divided over a report in a British newspaper that accuses President Jakaya Kikwete’s government of poaching.

While some MPs rushed to the President’s defence yesterday – under the umbrella of Tanzania Parliamentary Group on Sustainable Natural Resources Conservation and Utilisation – Shadow minister for natural resources and tourism Peter Msigwa backed the newspaper.

The two camps spoke at separate news conferences in Parliament’s sub-offices in Dar es Salaam.

In its weekend edition, the Mail on Sunday wrote that Mr Kikwete’s regime has done nothing to address poaching and has presided over the unprecedented slaughter of elephants in Tanzania’s history.

The paper appeared to accuse his administration of complicity in poaching and the illegal ivory trade, which has an annual global value estimated at about £6 billion (about Sh16 trillion).

The story broke just before President Kikwete left for the United Kingdom to attend a major anti-poaching conference.

The high-level summit to tackle the illegal wildlife trade kicks off today with heads of state and ministers from 50 governments in attendance.

The conference will be led by UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Foreign Secretary William Hague and Environment Secretary Owen Paterson.

Prince Charles will also be present, along with non-governmental organisations and other key figures who are keen to end the illegal trade in wildlife.

The Mail on Sunday article questions whether it is proper for Prince Charles and Mr Cameron to shake hands with President Kikwete during the conference set to start today at Lancaster House in London.

Addressing journalists in reaction to the report, the deputy chairperson of the parliamentary group, Mr Athumani Mfutakamba, dismissed the newspaper’s position, saying it knows nothing about elephants and poaching.

The group, which is registered as a non-governmental organisation in Parliament, has 20 members who describe themselves as defenders of natural resources. According to Mr Mfutakamba, the membership is drawn from different political parties.