I WAS concerned to hear of the BAe Systems deal to supply a state-of-the-art military air traffic control system to the impoverished African country of Tanzania at a cost of £28 million.
Tanzania has only eight military jets. Even taking into account the smuggling and poaching problems of this region, an outlay of this magnitude cannot be justified.
Tanzania is one of the world's poorest countries. Over half of the population lives below the poverty line, one in six children die before the age of five, and almost one third of the population will not live until the age of 40.
If our government is to follow through on its much-publicised plans to tackle global poverty, then this deal must be stopped.
Tony Blair at this year's Labour Party conference said: "The state of Africa is a scar on the conscience of the world," and "if the world focused on it, we could heal it."
Having encouraged the world to focus on this area, I hope that Mr Blair and his Department of Trade and Industry do the right thing.
ANDREW BERRY, St James Road, Blackburn.
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