◆ SpookStack

Dr Owen recommends, provided that the Prime Minister, Defence Secretary and the Chancellor agree, that we should offer to fly al this equipment to Tanzania by RAF aircraft unless suitable civil aircraft can be chartered, at our expense. It has not been possible in the time available to arrive at a precise costing of a package of this kind but it might involve expenditure of approxi- mately £2 million. Savings totalling £9 million have been identified in the FCO Vote in the current financial year. We expect that about £8 million of these savings will be spent on our programme of military assistance to Zambia during the current financial year. The balance would be available for assistance to Tanzania but if that balance proved insufficient we should have to look to the Contingency Reserve. It is clearly important that we make an early response to^ President Nyerere and Dr Owen would be grateful to know whether the Prime Minister and his colleagues agree to the above as soon as possible to enable urgent instructions to go to our High Commissioner in Dar-es-Salaam. I am copying this letter to the Private Secretaries to the Secretary of State for Defence, the Chancellor of the Exchequor, and Sir John Hunt. 6 (J S Wall) CONFIDENTIAL