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Tanzania to increase defense budget by 30 pct

Xinhua, May 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Tanzania said on Friday that it will increase its defense budget by 30 percent in the next fiscal year.

Hussein Mwinyi, the east African nation's Minister for Defense and National Service, told the National Assembly in capital Dodoma that the government planned a 950 million U.S. dollars defense budget in the 2015/2016 fiscal year.

He said in 2014/2015 fiscal year, the National Assembly approved a 729 million U.S. dollars budget for the ministry.

Mwinyi told lawmakers that the government will also ensure the country's borders were secure from home-grown, regional and global security threats, including terrorism.

He said that the country's borders were secure despite a few challenges in certain places and threats of terrorism from global and regional fundamentalists.

Though Tanzania has been specifically targeted by terrorists, the country's security personnel were keeping their eyes wide open and ready to deal with any eventuality, he said.

"Terrorism is a global challenge.. terrorists are now undertaking a special campaign of recruiting youths from various countries, sending terrorism threats everywhere in the world," said the minister.

"This means that there is a possibility of terrorist organizations coming into our country and preach their terrorist ideologies including that of radicalizing our youths.. we will keep our eyes wide open," he said.

In apparent reference to the recent killings of Tanzania People' s Defense Forces (TPDF) soldiers on a UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mwinyi said the government was doing everything possible to contain any threats of extended crimes in and within the east and central Africa region. Endi