Ngeleja, Dr Rashidi you cannot fool us again
|
|
CHARLES RUMISHA
Dar es Salaam
TANZANIA is not a nation island living in planet Mars; we are in mother Earth and well placed to know what is going on in the rest of the world through the web-link. Most importantly we are not a nation of sheep!
With due courtesy and all respect, Dr Idris Rashidi and Minister William Ngeleja, you cannot be easily let off the hook. You have raised the fantasy of power black out to create the unnecessary worries to the nation so as to sell Dowans second hand generators.
Mr Minister, you are more culpable because, as the head of the Energy and Minerals Ministry you already had a briefing that the proposal to buy the second hand Dowans’ generators had been shot down by the power utility’s Board of Directors, and that Dowans had sued Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) in Paris and that the generators have been slapped with an injunction.
But most worrying, TANESCO lawyers had warned the management not to go on with the deal because it would contravene the law. Now pertinent questions arising from the power blackout phantom are: Whose interests are Dr Idris and his minister trying to serve? Don’t these two people have a conflict of interest How could they override court injunction and buy the machines How could minister Ngeleja come public supporting the procurement of Dowans’ equipment without consent of the government
Honestly, we need to have good answers to our questions, because other authorities have talked about them, we feel there was a serious plot aimed to clear some political faces. If the government makes a slip and buys the dilapidated machines, there is no way it can win the Richmond case. It would have kissed bye all the chances of bringing to the court of law the perpetrators of the Richmond scam!
Tanzanians have come of age. They are capable of seeing through every statement and report released whether by the government, minister or public utility firm. The memories of Net Group Solutions, Aggreko, Richmond-Dowans, IPTL and the resultant heavy costs incurred are fresh on the minds of Tanzanians.
THE Speaker of the National Assembly, Samwel Sitta, told the press that the planned purchase of the Dowans power plant would be a major rip-off. He strongly cautioned the government against the controversial move, saying it would be scandalous for the state to buy used power turbines instead of opting for brand new power generators directly from reputable manufacturers.
Sitta told a news conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the proposed purchase of the controversial 100MW turbines would amount to blessing the illegal Richmond contract that was passed over to Dowans Tanzania Limited under dubious circumstances.
’’I would like to caution the government about the consequences of ignoring the advice of the parliamentary energy and minerals committee against the purchase of the Dowans power plant,’’ he remarked.
He said it was quite astonishing that both the Ministry of Energy and Minerals and the state-run Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) were vigorously pushing for the deal despite the obvious links between Dowans and the fraudulent Richmond Development Company LLC.
’’It doesn’t make sense that while the determination of a commercial dispute between TANESCO and Dowans at Paris is still pending, we are now actually discussing the purchase of the turbines between the two parties that are in conflict with each other,’’ he noted.
He advised TANESCO to work with the government’s procurement watchdog - the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) - to speed up procedures that are currently bureaucratic. This would enable the public utility to buy brand new turbines directly from manufacturers.
The Speaker affirmed the decision of the parliamentary energy and minerals committee chaired by William Shellukindo which rejected outright the proposed Dowans deal.
Reports emanating from State House yesterday said the president has not intervened in the Dowans gas turbine wrangle. In other words, the matter has not attracted State House.
Mr President, we ask you to intervene in the mess created between the ministry of energy and minerals and TANESCO to save the face of the TANESCO board. They have a strong headed chief executive and an unpredictable minister. They all deserve a sack for seeking to embarrass the government by saving
No comments:
Post a Comment