The United States pledged $407 million (Sh41.2 billion) aid to Tanzania on Monday, months after cancelling a similar payment. The cancellation was due to an election that the United States said had violated the country's commitment to democracy. The US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) cancelled a $473 million (Sh48 billion) aid package in March after elections in the Zanzibar archipelago that it said were not free and fair. "Although the MCC initiative and this new funding are two separate programmes, this new aid commitment is a sign that Tanzania is heading in the right direction," he said. It is part of a five-year aid deal signed between the USAgency for International Development (USAid) and Tanzania on Monday and constitutes half of the US government's expenditure on development in Tanzania, the US embassy said.

Source: The Star August 02, 2016 06:11 UTC