TERRIBLE MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS DECRIED IN PARLIAMENT IN TANZANIA

  

 

[tanzanet] This kind of impunity is dangerous for our nation

Saturday, 31 January, 2015 13:11

Editorial Cartoon.

Members of Parliament (MPs) yesterday raised concern in Dodoma over the growing impunity for public leaders and civil servants implicated in theft and misappropriation of public funds.

In addressing the matter legislators unanimously raised their voices, saying the trend was indeed bringing devastating effects to the country’s development, as public leaders were indulging in stealing and misappropriation of public funds at will.

The spirited debate ensued right after Public Account Committee (PAC) chairman Kabwe Zuberi Zitto tabled the committee’s report on Thursday. 

The document  he presented resulted from the scrutiny the committee made on audited reports for the financial year that ended on June, 30,2013 by the Controller and Auditors General (CAG) on public companies, that is parastatal organizations.

Giving an example, Zitto said that the Tanzania Ports Authority ( TPA) alone spent close to Sh10 billion in sitting  and travel allowances without permit from the shareholder, the Treasury Registrar. 

The PAC chairman also said Tanzanian taxpayers are now shouldering a debt amounting to over Sh80 billion, payable to Hong Kong based company Wallis Inc., after the Air Tanzania Corporation (ATC) management signed the worst possible contract in 2007 for a lease of an aircraft that however did not provide any service in the country. Until now the government has paid over Sh45 billion.

Questionable spending of public funds was also highlighted in the construction of the VIP lounge at the Julius Nyerere International Airport where documents to support the spending of Sh9 billion were missing.

Tax exemptions were not spared in the report as until 2014 the nation had lost collections amounting to Sh1.8 trillion of which Sh80.45 billion was illegally spent.

The PAC report provided further that pension funds were also in bad financial shape simply because the government until now has failed to repay loans amounting to Sh1.87 trillion.

The report presented by Zitto represents the tip of an iceberg. For years now the government has been losing billions of shillings in various sectors. Public spending by district councils and municipalities has always been found to be associated with theft and misappropriation and yet we find no legal measures taken on those implicated.

Taking the contract between Wallis Inc. and ATC as a good example, one may question: Who are the government officials involved in the deal? Wasn’t ATC represented by competent lawyers when signing the contract? Why are those who caused this mess still enjoying themselves in the streets? The list of questions can be stretched further.

There is no doubt that holding leaders to account in this country when they mess around is a problem. Leaders can squander public monies and when implicated they are told to resign or be transferred to other work stations.

This culture is what costs this nation. Public leaders don’t learn from past mistakes committed by themselves or by their fellow leaders simply because they know that even though they steal or cause multibillion shilling loses they won’t be taken to account in any way. They would just be told to resign so that they can go and spend the money they looted elsewhere.

For this nation to get back to line leaders of this kind must first be taken out of office, have their property confiscated and then taken to court. If we don’t do that then the public outcry over theft, embezzlement and misappropriation of public monies shall never.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN