Kenya and Tanzania are in talks to resolve an impasse that led to the burning of chicks and auctioning of livestock in the neighbouring country.
More than 1,300 cows were auctioned near Arusha in October for about Sh93 million. Tanzania’s Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Luhaga Mpina said they feared the cattle would spread dangerous diseases.
On November 2,
Kenyan authorities got angry after Tanzania police burnt to death 6,400 day-old chicks on suspicion they could spread bird flu.
Tanzania’s regional livestock boss, Obedi Nyasembwa, said the chicks, worth about Sh554,000 (Tsh12 million), were smuggled from Kenya and were a health risk.
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Tanzania has been accused of heightening
hostility towards Kenya but Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has
said talks with her counterpart will ensure understanding.
Amina
has ruled out revenge and sanctions against John Magufuli's nation.
"We don't want to engage in correcting something by doing something wrong," she noted on Wednesday.
"Our people are watching. They feel these things should not have happened. We need to continue making sure they don't happen again but I think tit for tat perpetuates wrong. We are not in the business of doing wrong."
Amina said the priority is making sure the affected find relief, following the losses they incurred, and that relationships are sustained.
"We will be neighbours forever. An act, whether committed against us or not, will not change that. Governments come and go but the people of different traditions will always be there. Two wrongs don't make a right," she said.
"Our job is to ensure the relationships we have continue to exist after we leave. We will not destroy our relationships with any of our neighbours and we hope whoever takes office many years later will continue building those relationships. It's about improving what you find in place."
Noting similar incidents had never taken place in the past, the minister said they must not occur in future and that problems must be addressed amicably.
"We also need to look at how to relieve the pain of those whose chicken or the cows were either auctioned or burnt. That is the most positive way of dealing with this...by looking at their pain and how to relieve it," she said.
Amina acknowledged hiccups in the East African Community's pursuit of development and the people's well-being.
She noted cattle have grazed in that particular part for decades.
"People should not be punished for an omission that is not of their own making," she said.
She added it should be easy to cross borders into Kenya and Tanzania as this is central to building communities and uniting nations.
"These are people who have lived together for long. They intermarry and move from side to side so we should facilitate their movement," the Cabinet Secretary said.
The minister further said Kenya and Uganda need to learn to talk to each other when problems arise.
"It is important to have a way forward and deal with problems so they do not repeat themselves. We should not wait weeks
to talk about something... we resolve problems by talking, not through revenge."
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