Biwater’s Secret Challenge to Tanzania

In response to the failure of privatization in Tanzania, Biwater filed secret proceedings in the British High Court for an injunction against the cancellation of the contract. In November 2005, Biwater used a bilateral trade agreement between Britain and Tanzania to file a claim for lost future profits of $20-25 million, in the secret World Bank dispute court ICSID (the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes).

Worse still — not only is Biwater seeking compensation in British and international courts with secret proceedings, Biwater’s investment were also insured by the UK Export Credit Guarantee Department, so wherever Biwater seeks compensation on its inability to deliver the service, Tanzanians will end up paying the bill. This is the unhappy logic of our current global rule of corporate control , corporations can trample on people and nations, while governments, such as Tanzania, have little recourse.

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• The claim filed by Biwater under ICSID
• Tanzania’s legal wrangling in British court
  

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