Ambassador Kallaghe (second left), his wife Joyce (second right), Onesmo Ngowi (third left) and a couple of close friends including the chairperson of Tanzanian "Diaspora" to the UK, Apollo Temu (first right).
MOSHI, KILIMANJARO, TANZANIA: A career diplomat with over 30 years of service to the Tanzanian government, His Excellency Peter Allan Kallaghe is a seasoned diplomat who strolls great humor and fanfare in his work as a civil servant.
Today, I had a great pleasure to share a delicious lunch with Ambassador Kallaghe, his wife Joyce and couple of close friends including the chairperson of Tanzanian "Diaspora" to the UK Mr. Apollo Temu.
The lunch was hosted by a close and family friend Mr. Elizabeth Maro Minde who is also the chairperson of Kilimanjaro Women Exchange and Consultancy (KWIECO)
Mr Kallaghe’s father was a civil servant who rose to the positions of Permanent Secretary and later Ambassador to both the Congo and Russia. As a result, the young Mr Kallaghe grew up in a family ‘surrounded by discussions on political and international issues’.
After university he joined the Foreign Ministry, serving over the next 15 years at various Tanzanian missions abroad, including in Rwanda and Zambia and at the UN.
Most recently he was High Commissioner in Canada (also accredited to Cuba), where his major activity was promoting Tanzania’s mining industry to potential Canadian investors. ‘During that time we moved Tanzania from being a non-existent exporter of gold to the third major exporter after South Africa and Ghana,’ he happily recalls.
Meanwhile, he also did much to strengthen the relationship between Tanzania and Cuba, especially in the field of medicine, with many Tanzanian doctors now training in Havana.
From 1998-2004, Mr Kallaghe was Personal Assistant on Foreign Affairs to the President of Tanzania. In this capacity he accompanied then President Benjamin Mkapa on numerous visits at home and abroad, attending high-level meetings at institutions such as the African Union and the UN. From January 2006, he was Director of Communications in the President’s Office.
Reflecting on this time, he notes that, ‘However unpopular the concept, governments only recently have realised they must communicate better with the public.’ Having set up a system within the Tanzania government to do just that, he expects that this experience will make him more accessible to the UK media than he otherwise might have been:
‘If they wish to engage me on issues on Tanzania, the media will find me a very willing partner.’ Over the years, Mr Kallaghe has also been closely involved in Tanzania’s regional conflict resolution initiatives.
Ambassador Kallaghe is now Tanzania High Commissioner to the Great Britain and Ireland for the pat 4 and half years.
Beyond simply continuing the long-standing tourism relationship between the two countries (Tanzania is a popular safari and beach holiday destination), he has also ‘transformed the relationship of donor and recipient to one of trade and investment. Britain is a huge investment destination for Tanzania.’
He has already organized several groups of investors, especially in the areas of agriculture and exploration for gas and petroleum. He also hopes to ‘tap into the huge resources of the Tanzanian community in the UK – figures range from 100,000- 500,000 – and take advantage of these opportunities.’
What does he think is Tanzania’s greatest diplomatic challenge? ‘The image of Africa and Tanzania is changing for the better. But not quite fast enough. I would like to convey that Africa is a business opportunity and that companies should start looking at the different sectors available.
If I can present a modern, developing, non-corrupt, efficient, new Africa, I would be very happy.’ Tanzania has certainly appointed a worthy champion of its cause here in London.
They call t Africa!
We call it Home!
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