SORRY, MR PRESIDENT, YOU ARE TOO LATE!!! YOU ALREADY MISSED THE TRAIN!!! WE WILL NOT TRUST CCM AGAIN IN 2015!!!
00000000
BY THE GUARDIAN REPORTER
The State House issued statement comes just a day after Chief Secretary, Ombeni Sefue, announced that the State House has begun an investigation into the same.
The press release from State House says the President officially received the report for the Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Parliamentary Accounts Committee and Parliament Resolutions on the Tegeta Escrow saga yesterday.
The statement says, the President has already started going through the report and within a week’s time will make the decisions under him and he will give directives to the government on how to tackle the issues they are responsible for.
Upon receiving it, the President ordered the CAG report be made public to allow wananchi to read and understand it, especially the recommendations made by the CAG.
President Kikwete has also urged for the report to be published in the nation’s newspapers and on social networks to allow as many readers as possible access to it.
The National Assembly late last month unanimously came up with eight resolutions on the scandal, among the resolutions, the legislature agreed that key government officials who facilitated the withdrawal of the monies from the account be removed from their respective positions.
The recommendations urge the removal of key officials should include those who received the monies under dubious circumstances.
They also urge the appointing authority, the President, to fire the Minister for Energy and Minerals Prof Sospeter Muhongo and Permanent Secretary Eliachim Maswi, Attorney General Frederick Werema and the Minister for Lands and Human Settlements Development Prof Anna Tibaijuka.
Also in the resolutions, the legislature wants the government to dissolve the board of directors of the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco).
In a related development, the government has assured development partners that it will take to task all government officials found guilty by the National Ethics Committee in the Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL) and the Tegeta Escrow Account scandal.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Bernard Membe, made the statement on Monday when speaking to the management team of Development Partners led by Finish Ambassador to Tanzania, Sinikka Antila.
The management team’s visit according to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation was specifically to discuss the Tegeta Escrow Account saga.
“The debate in the parliament was centred on due diligence of Pan Africa Power (PAP), capacity charges and whether the funds were public as well as ethics of civil servants and political leaders who received funds from the account” Membe told the emissary.
The minister said the National Ethics Committee is now investigating the ethics issue to know which public servants crossed the ethical line in the scandal and for action to be taken against them.
“It is not just the General Budget Support funds that our development partners are withholding that is at stake, the credibility of our government is also at stake, my President will not hesitate to take swift action against all that will be found guilty” Membe reassured the Development Partners.
Speaking on behalf of the team, Finish Ambassador to Tanzania, Sinikka Antila commended the Minister’s efforts in providing them with timely information regarding actions that are being considered by the government on the issue.
She said the Diplomatic community was impressed with the way the discussions were conducted in parliament and the report that was put forth for government’s consideration.
The delegation, which was invited by Minister Membe, forms part of Development Partners who withheld their contribution worth over 80 per cent to the government budget pending the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reports on the IPTL scandal.
The management team comprised representatives from the European Union (EU), World Bank, African Development Bank (AFDB), Norway, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Denmark and Germany.
Last week, the European Union delegation in Tanzania said it was analyzing the two key reports before making any decisions.
They said the Budget Support Group is working on the report of the Controller and Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee before reaching a position on the stalled budget support funds.
In October this year, a group of 12 international donors delayed budget support for Tanzania until findings of the investigation into charges of corruption in the energy sector were released and appropriate action taken.
On November 26 this year, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recommended that Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda and other top government officials take political responsibility and resign over the scandal involving funds that were fraudulently withdrawn from the Bank of Tanzania.
Other top government officials implicated in the saga are Attorney General Frederick Werema, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Minerals Eliakim Maswi, Energy and Minerals Minister Sospeter Muhongo and his deputy, Stephen Masele.
Chief Secretary, Ombeni Sefue told reporters on Monday that the State House has begun investigating the controversial withdrawal of 320bn/- from the Bank of Tanzania’s (BoT) Tegeta escrow account.
He said the investigation gears at helping the President to take appropriate measures but with the state house press release, now the country and the Development Partners, are poised to see the President act on the parliamentary recommendations and resolutions.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
No comments :
Post a Comment