Time to act tough on swindlers  

10Apr 2020
Editor
Editorial
The Guardian
Time to act tough on swindlers  

For almost the whole of last week big headlines the country’s media and social networks were about the characteristic grim side in the establishment – how a handful of influential people are stealing citizeny’s money left, right and centre, depriving them of quality basic social services -

-education, health and water, and no one seems to care.

The big story was the Controller and Auditor General Report for 2018/19 Financial Year that was tabled in Parliament. As is customary – since times immemorial – CAG reports have been displays of what is outrageously amiss in the nation’s official accounting system and for the government becoming deaf about it.

It would be accurate to say it is the greatest display of the rot that tells much about the country’s difficult drive in poverty eradication as well as the rampant corruption in the officialdom.

Hence to merely say the report is a grim side in the establishment’s nearly six decade history is perhaps an understatement – but its playing deaf on the shenanigans going on without relent borders the inconceivable.

The report details many cases of public funds pilferage through shoddy contracts, outright embezzlement and thievery by officials and sheer lethargy on the part of management.

There is also this: Incredible though, the government is also blamed for pushing up costs of development projects because of its delays in releasing budgeted funds thereof.

One sordid instance was given in the report in respect of TANROADS construction projects in regard to roads and airports whereby claims from contractors and consultant amounting to 1.03tr/- as at November last year of which 224.03b/- was interest charges – from the principal amount of 794.09b/-.

For decades many calls were being made to have the annual reports used to hold accountable those found to have abused their powers and caused the government losses running into billions of shillings, with some calling for outright court action against the culprits.

The latest CAG Report is the fifth to come out during the current Phase V administration, but Tanzanians are yet to see the results of its early promise – that it would never condone graft and or business-as-usual, happy-go-lucky style of public resource management.

We are therefore reminding that something has to be done if merely to show that this administration is in reality different to its predecessors.

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