It is in connection with the presentation of the latest report of the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) for the financial year 2018/2019 unveiled at midweek.
The reports details a litany of misappropriation of billions of shillings, first in the form of money lost in local deals, and in dubious rents abroad where our foreign missions could have renovated buildings acquired years back. The CAG says in the report that accounting officers in local government authorities, ministries, parastatals and embassies abroad have a case to answer when it comes to financial probity. Too many cases of misconduct have been unveiled and it appears the government won’t let the matter rest.
CAG Charles Kichere handed the annual report to President Dr John Magufuli at State House Chamwino in Dodoma at midweek, where the key point was massive misappropriation of funds for instance among local governments, with more than 14bn/- not spent on the intended projects. With exceptionally intense efforts by the fifth phase government to root out misconduct in public offices, many people will struggle to grasp how upwards of 1.13bn/- could be swindled by dishonest officials during the period. The only respite is that under different circumstances it would be worse, so no one can say corruption is there as usual, no difference, etc.
Similar amounts of cash were put to faulty use by other public bodies, for instance about 1.52bn/- was used without approval from procurement boards in various districts. But the report was especially harsh about the conduct of our foreign missions, where it indicates that foreign missions have been using a lot of money to pay rent, whereas cheaper alternatives were available with the same funds. Embassies in Sweden, Brazil and Algeria spent up to Sh1.56bn to pay rent, instead of renovate buildings the missions already dispose, and this was happening in various other places.
The CAG report notes that about 14 buildings already purchased by the government for accommodating embassies abroad are virtually abandoned, with this situation being somewhat systematic, as it appears. Just imagine that this was the situation the CAG encountered with regard to acquired embassy buildings in Geneva, Kinshasa, Washington DC, Nairobi, Khartoum, Harare, Lusaka, Kigali, Nairobi, Maputo, Bujumbura and New York. There has to be a systematic problem with how these buildings are maintained, as no conspiracy to hire instead of renovating is imaginable.
There are also some findings which are likely to ignite some controversy, like the seeming misappropriation of funds by political parties. Examples cited include the depositing of 300m/- out of 389.68m/- handed to the Civic United Front (CUF) – which the report says was a grant rather than saying it was subsidy – which was transferred to a private account. Again, Sh69m of the deposited fund was withdrawn from the party’s account “without the knowledge of the party secretary general.” Was this a genuine audit query or did it reflect the cleavages and eventual split in that party? While there is plenty for MPs to chew, it is likely we have made progress - and that would in itself be something to write home about, as they say.
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