Donald Lukele
The WAJIBU Institute has analyzed the report by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) for the year 2022/23, uncovering various transactions indicating corruption, misappropriation, and fraud.
Transactions totaling Sh. 2.41 trillion have been identified in revenue collection, government expenditure management, and public procurement in Local Government Authorities, Central Government, and Public Agencies.
Presenting the analysis report in Dodoma yesterday during the launch of the Accountability Reports 2022/23 by the WAJIBU Institute, their Research and Projects Program Manager, Moses Kimaro, noted a consistent decrease in indicators over the past three years.
Read More:CAG Report 2022/2023 Highlights
He explained that in 2020/21, transactions with these indicators amounted to Sh. 4.59 trillion, decreasing to Sh. 3.8 trillion in 2021/22, and further to Sh. 2.41 trillion in 2022/23 in Local Government Authorities (halmashauri), Central Government, and public agencies.
“However, our analysis shows an increase in corruption, fraud, and misappropriation indicators in Local Government Authorities between 2021/22 (Sh. 297.86 billion) and 2022/23 (Sh. 499.96 billion),” said Kimaro.
He highlighted areas such as weaknesses in public procurement management (Sh. 440.49 billion), improper expenditure by public agencies (Sh. 177.71 billion), ministries interfering in tenders at public institutions (Sh. 10.4 billion), tender boards awarding contracts to unqualified bidders (Sh. 53.71 billion), and public agencies publishing without contracts (Sh. 1.71 billion).
Kimaro also mentioned that their analysis found 22 halmashauri conducting purchases worth Sh. 28.87 billion outside the respective procurement plan, and 31 halmashauri procuring services worth Sh. 27.43 billion outside the procurement system.
Additionally, there were 16 halmashauri making non-competitive purchases worth Sh. 4.87 billion and 14 halmashauri signing contracts worth Sh. 9.95 billion without verification by their legal advisors.
Regarding the Central Government, Kimaro stated that ten institutions made purchases worth Sh. 2.11 billion without approval from tender boards, sixteen institutions procured goods worth Sh. 149.56 billion outside the electronic system, and four procured goods worth Sh. 2.16 billion without contracts.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?
Kimaro recommended that the government continue taking disciplinary and legal action against all officials involved in misusing public resources, including urging investigative bodies (TAKUKURU, DCI, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions) to prosecute those responsible.
The Executive Director of the WAJIBU Institute, Ludovick Utouh, a retired CAG, advised the government through Parliament to enact the Anti-Fraud Act to facilitate accountability for corruption, misappropriation, and fraud against public funds.
He also suggested that the National Audit Office (NAOT) convene a meeting between CAG and senior officials to collectively discuss reasons for inadequate implementation of audit findings, noting that less than 40% of CAG recommendations were implemented.
This proposal was supported by Edward Simon from the Kioo Foundation in Kigoma, emphasizing the need to address the issue: “Is the problem that the medicine is ineffective, the patient resistant to the medicine, or the patient unwilling to take the medicine?”
Awadhi Suluo, Director of Capacity Building in Public Procurement at the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), who was the guest of honor at the report launch, urged Tanzanian citizens to uphold their responsibilities as outlined in Articles 8 and 27 of the Constitution.
“As citizens of Tanzania, let us uphold our responsibilities as stated in Articles 8 and 27 of our Constitution. These reports have been simplified so even citizens with lower levels of education can understand. I commend the WAJIBU Institute for compiling these reports for eight consecutive years.”
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