- The smear campaign and misleading propaganda is financed and co-ordinated by the very same individuals who benefited from the Tegeta escrow scandal. The escrow beneficiaries first claimed the scandal was initiated by Standard Chartered Bank but none of them offered credible proof.
There has been a sustained campaign to mislead the nation since the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) completed their investigations--upon which the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) tabled its report in Parliament.
The smear campaign and misleading propaganda is financed and co-ordinated by the very same individuals who benefited from the Tegeta escrow scandal. The escrow beneficiaries first claimed the scandal was initiated by Standard Chartered Bank but none of them offered credible proof.
They changed their message when this failed, claiming the scandal was the brainchild of a prominent Dar es Salaam-based lawyer and a Member of Parliament, Mr Nimrod Mkono. But no one was willing to present credible evidence. When this also failed, they changed tack again--this time claiming that the British government--through High Commissioner Diana Melrose was behind the whole drama. But, once again, no credible evidence was put on the table and the story changed once more. This time around, prominent businessman and media mogul Reginald Mengi was the man behind the scandal--but, as usual, there was no evidence tabled to back the allegations.
It is not our intention to rewind the entire Tegeta escrow tale and those behind this smear campaign need to understand that Tanzanians cannot be fooled again. The Tegeta escrow scandal is almost done with and there is no need for cheap propaganda.
Key question
It does not matter who leaked the scandal. The most important question is whether the deal was clean or dubious. Those keen to spread the cheap propaganda should offer the public the evidence to support their claims. Beating around the bush in an attempt to find scapegoat individuals or institutions is unacceptable.
It does not make sense that the CAG, PCCB and PAC reached the conclusion that this deal was dubious and riddled with serious flaws--and still there people out there who dispute the truth. We witnessed a heated debate when the report was tabled in Parliament but, at the end of the day, it is evidence that carried the day. Parliament--not Mr Zitto Kabwe or Mr David Kafulila--announced its resolutions, which the government must implement fully.
The government has since responded by implementing almost 90 per cent of those resolutions. There are only two or three to go, including nationalising the IPTL plants located at Tegeta and prosecuting Mr Harbinder Sethi, the man behind the escrow deal. We want to believe that the government is working on these issues ahead of the July recess in readiness for the October General Election. And yet there are still people out there who want us to revive this debate. They are not telling Tanzanians that they have been paid to spread their propaganda. While we fully respect the right to be heard, we would like to state clearly that both VIP Engineering and PAP were given a golden chance by PCCB, CAG and Parliament to tell their story. Their version of the story was so inconsistent, though, that it was hard to believe.
All the accused in this scandal, including government officials, were allowed the right of reply. It is then that we heard that dozens of government officials were paid hefty amounts by VIP, the money being sent directly to their bank accounts. No one has given us an explanation as to why they deserved to be paid by VIP, which did not need any favours to sell its 30 per cent stake in IPTL.
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