The Rot in Local Govts Accounts is Most Frightening

The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

11 May 2011

opinion

I Shudder from what’s been going on for decades regarding public accounts of Central Govt. institutions in Tanzania — if the stinking rot which is regularly aired is anything to judge by!

I’ve in mind here the audit findings and reports routinely published by the Govt. Controller & Auditor-General (CAG).

The auditing is led by the veritable CAG himself, Ludovick Outouh, a hard-nosed fellow who’s proving a formidable nemesis to wayward accounting officers in Govt. Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

That kind of rot has been public knowledge down the years. CAG has been publishing his reports, copies of which are formally ‘presented’ to the President and the Speaker for necessary action. Unfortunately, however, no action’s seen to be taken against officials perceived to have been involved in the financial skullduggery associated with public funds and other resources!

In the event, Central Govt. audit reports have become passé with each passing year. It was as if malfeasance and misfeasance involving public resources were what the doctor ordered, and the Govt. of-the-Day has had to live with them like an incurable affliction. This has inevitably reduced ordinary Tanzanians into passively tolerating the rot in their midst and around them!

In recent months, the situation has been transmuted from bad to worse, grossly compounded by revelations of similar, if grosser, rot in Local Govt. Authorities. These include District Councils, Municipal Councils and City Councils…

Today, CAG also extends his auditing tentacles to Local Govt. institutions. His noble efforts are augmented by those of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Local Authority Accounts (LAAC).

The Committee is under the chairmanship of Augustine Mrema, the maverick politician-cum-administrator and Member of Parliament for the Vunjo Constituency on the electoral ticket of the Opposition Tanzania Labour Party (TLP).

One has only to read the CAG Reports, as well as the LAAC findings as released for public consumption beginning in earnest with the current Parliament which swung into action following the Oct. 31, 2010 elections.

There also have indeed been revelations from other sources, including those in the form of press reports, mostly highlighting protests and other actions against gross shortcomings in Local Govt. accounts and public procurement transactions.

Invariably, Councillors have – inadvertently or by design – brought the ‘shortcomings’ to public attention through dramatic demonstrations… They have here and there opted to walk out of Council sessions rather than be associated with perpetuation of the shortcomings.

I say ‘perpetuation’ because the shortcomings are clearly habitual, designed to give advantage to certain vested interests at the expense of political economies and Tanzanians at large.

But, the general belief is that the demonstrations are a monopoly of the formidable opposition Party for Democracy & Development (ChaDeMa). This is wrong, wrong, wrong!

I’ll illustrate… For example, Councillors of the veteran ‘ruling’ Revolutionary Party ‘CcM’ walked out of the debating Chamber of the Kigoma-Ujiji Municipal Council recently.

This was because FY-2011/12 budget papers were distributed to Councillors n the eve of debating day, instead of the statutory seven days in advance! [m-Tanzania: May 2, 2011].

This seems to be common practice among many Local Govt. Councils whereby Council Administrators – who are in the pay of the Govt.-of-the-Day – sit on papers till the penultimate day to debating. That’s partly why ChaDeMa Councillors across Tanzania (and the Kigoma-Ujiji CcM Councillors) walked out of debating Chambers.

Basically, such delays deny ‘Opposition’ Councillors the opportunity to scrutinise/study the papers thoroughly to enable them contribute most effectively in debating budgetary and other proposals. Some of the proposals range from the ridiculous to the criminal.

For instance, the Kinondoni Municipality budget for FY-2011/12 includes Tsh44m for financing partisan (CcM) election manifesto preparation… Tsh1bn for Councillors’ robes (about Tsh37m apiece for 27 Ward Councillors!); and Tsh96m for Municipal Director’s bodyguard (Tsh8m monthly ‘salary!’). [TanzaniaDaima: May 1, 2011].

Imagine the damage to the national and local economy caused by such grossly indecent expenditures in the 133 Councils on Mainland Tanzania!

Instead of harping upon increasing tax collections, the Govt. should concentrate not only on tightly controlling public expenditure, but also plugging revenue losses as a realistic priority. Cheers!

Mr Lyimo is a socio-economic commentator based in Dar es Salaam.

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