Tanzanian President fired eight ministers implicated in corruption deals with Chinese business people who have invaded the East African region

Commentary By Leo Odera Omolo

PRESIDENT Jakaya Kitwete has set the record of an African head of state that has bravely parted the company with eight ministers in his concerted effort to help his government get rid of corruption and graft.

The latest emergence of rampant corruption in the Eastern African region is being attributed to the arrival of Chinese business people scrambling for influence and businesses, mainly in the construction industry.

The Chinese construction firms have taken over the construction of road network, building of bridges, expansion of ports and other economic infrastructure.

These Chinese big business people are said to be too generous in parting with colossal amount of money in “kick-backs” unlike the former traditional firms from Western European countries, which for many years dominated the construction industry in the region.

The Tanzanian head of state two weeks ago fired six ministers and their two deputies over corruption allegations and other accountability shortcomings, in a case that puts the Kenyan and Ugandan executives on the spot in their handling of cabinet members mentioned in shady dealings.

Kikwete relieved the eight ministers of their ministerial positions following nearly two weeks of pressure by members of Tanzanian Parliament and the public who wanted them dropped in order to repair the damaged image of the government.

The action came after four different reports, one by the Auditor and Controller General, and the others by parliamentary oversight committees exposed corruption an embezzlement of hundreds of millions of shillings in public funds in the respective ministries.

The sacked ministers include Mustafa Mkulo {Finance}.William Ngeleja {Energy}, Ezekiel Miage {Tourism and Natural Resources}.Cyril Chami {Trade and Industry}, Omar Nundu {Transport} and his Deputy Athumani Mkatakamba, the Health Minister Hadji Mponda and his deputy Dr Lucy Nkya.

It has since emerged that some of the fired officials are very close political allies of the president.

The sacking on May 4, 2012 was the second time in as many in as many years government minister implicated in scandals were forced out or resigned voluntarily to save the image of the government and safeguard the political interests of the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi {CCM}.

In February 2008, the then Prime Minister Edward Lowasa stepped aside from office after parliamentary select committee investigating a USD 172 million emergency power generation contract between Tanzania Electric Supply Company {TANESCO} and an American registered firm accused him of influencing the award.

Resigning with him were two ministers who held the Energy and Minerals docket-Nazir Karamagiand Dr Ebrahim Msabaha.

In the recent reshuffle the ministers suspected of corruption and influence peddling. Some of them came under heavy censure for presiding over corrupt public institutions, including failing to take disciplinary action against those found to have misappropriated money meant for schools, health centers, roads and other public projects.

The former Finance Mister Mustafa Mkulo was blamed for rising national debt, deterioration of the local currency and spiraling inflation, which led to a sharp rise in the cost of living.

The sacked minister was also accused of diverting money in the budget without Parliament’s approval, MPs debating in Dodoma during the month of April session claimed the Finance Minister had interfered with the day to day management of boards of directors for the parastatals and agencies under his ministerial docket.

The fired Energy and Mineral Resources Minister William Ngeleja paid the price for the crippling power crisis in the country as well as failure to steer the ministry into delivering satisfactory national benefits from mineral resource, mainly gold.

The dismissed minster for Tourism and Natural Resources Ezekiel Maige found himself under a storm related issuance of wildlife and hunting block licenses. He was also forced to come out and explain how he had acquired his enormous wealth within the shortest time he had been minister.

The sacked Trade and Industry Minister Cyril Chami was blamed for being indecisive on alleged scandals in connection with the pre-shipment inspection of Tanzania destined vehicles- a task undertaken by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards{TBS} and which reportedly saw the agency lose colossal amount of money to the tune of Tshs 13 billion in suspect payments.

The sacked Transport Minister Omar Nundu and his deputy Athumani Mkatakamba, were dropped from the cabinet apparently due to irregularities in the expansion of the Dar Es Salaam Port. The two officials were also reported to have differed publicly on which companies to support to undertake the port project, with the minister publicly revealing in a press conference that his deputy was sponsored for foreign trips by a Chinese company interested in the construction tender of the project.

Not surprisingly, the top two top officials of the Ministry of Health an Social Welfare,Dr Hadji Mponda and his deputy Dr.Lucy Nkya, lost their slots as the result of a recent stormy doctors strike that shook the East African nation.

President Kikwete was quoted as having said,”it is a good practice for Ministers to take political responsibility, however, this time around directors in departments, chief executive officers in parastatals and the likes who caused the problems must also go. There are people who have a tendency of plotting against their ministers.”

Some political analysts and independent commentators say the the Tanzania case should be the roll model and should be adopted to make the East African region compliant to tenets of democracy, good governance and war on corruption.

They say, however, that Kenya and Uganda as senior members of the East African Community are worst affected and suffer deplorable levels of public accountability. Case in point is the going controversy involving the National Hospital Insurance Funds {NHIF} scandal with the Minister for Medical Services Prof Pete Anyang’ Nyong’o strongly resisting calls for him to step aside over what appears a monumental insurance cover rip-off under his watch.

Former Education Minister Prof. Sam K.Ongeri vehemently resisted a call for his suspension an deployed political tactics in resisting any disciplinary action an switched the blames to others after his ministry’s top official having squandered and vandalized millions of money donated by the British government for free primary education I the country.

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