EXHIBIT 10 B1
CERTIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER
CERTIFICATIONS
I, Ronald E. Robison, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of Morgan Stanley
Municipal Income Opportunities Trust III;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact necessary to make the statements made, in
light of the circumstances under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period
covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and
other financial information included in this report,
fairly present in all material respects the financial
condition, results of operations, changes in net assets,
and cash flows (if the financial statements are required
to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant
as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure
controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-2(c)
under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the
registrant and have:
a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures to
ensure that material information relating to the
registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is
made known to us by others within those entities,
particularly during the period in which this report is
being prepared;
b) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's
disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within
90 days prior to the filing date of this report (the
"Evaluation Date"); and
c) presented in this report our conclusions about the
effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures
based on our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;
5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation, to the
registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the
registrant's board of directors (or persons performing
the equivalent functions):
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a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation
of internal controls which could adversely affect the
registrant's ability to record, process, summarize, and
report financial data and have identified for the
registrant's auditors any material weaknesses in
internal controls; and
b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
management or other employees who have a significant
role in the registrant's internal controls; and
6. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have
indicated in this report whether or not there were
significant changes in internal controls or in other
factors that could significantly affect internal
controls subsequent to the date of our most recent
evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard
to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.
Date: November 19, 2003
Ronald E. Robison
Principal Executive Officer
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EXHIBIT 10 B2
CERTIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER
CERTIFICATIONS
I, Francis Smith, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of Morgan Stanley
Municipal Income Opportunities Trust III;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact necessary to make the statements made, in
light of the circumstances under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period
covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and
other financial information included in this report,
fairly present in all material respects the financial
condition, results of operations, changes in net assets,
and cash flows (if the financial statements are required
to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant
as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure
controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-2(c)
under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the
registrant and have:
(i) designed such disclosure controls and procedures to
ensure that material information relating to the
registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is
made known to us by others within those entities,
particularly during the period in which this report is
being prepared;
(ii) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's
disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within
90 days prior to the filing date of this report (the
"Evaluation Date"); and
(iii) presented in this report our conclusions about the
effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures
based on our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;
5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation, to the
registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the
registrant's board of directors (or persons performing
the equivalent functions):
15
a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation
of internal controls which could adversely affect the
registrant's ability to record, process, summarize, and
report financial data and have identified for the
registrant's auditors any material weaknesses in
internal controls; and
b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
management or other employees who have a significant
role in the registrant's internal controls; and
6. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have
indicated in this report whether or not there were
significant changes in internal controls or in other
factors that could significantly affect internal
controls subsequent to the date of our most recent
evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard
to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.
Date: November 19, 2003
Francis Smith
Principal Financial Officer
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