The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
6 August 2008
A parliamentary committee now wants the presidential task force that investigated the Sh133 billion External Payment Arrears (EPA) scandal barred from presenting its report to President Jakaya Kikwete.
The Public Corporations Accounts Committee chaired by Kigoma North MP Parliament Zitto Kabwe has officially written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Samuel Sitta, seeking his support on the matter.
The committee is reportedly unhappy with the way the team led by Attorney-General Johnson Mwanyika carried out the EPA investigation, accusing it of having failed to follow its terms of reference spelt out by President Kikwete.
The other members of the task force, included Inspector-General of Police Said Mwema, and the Director-General of Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau, Dr Edward Hosea.
Sources in Parliament said the letter to Speaker Sitta, dated July 22, was delivered to him before he left for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meeting in Malaysia last week.
Contacted for comment yesterday, State House spokesperson Salva Rweyemamu said the task force was still working on its report.
Mr Rweyemamu said that though the deadline for submitting the report had passed, the team was keen to fully complete the task.
"The focus is having a comprehensive report rather than looking at the deadline. The public should remain patient as the results of the report will be known once it reaches the President's office," he said.
Addressing his regular press briefing in Dar es Salaam, Mr Rweyemamu dwelt at length on President Kikwete's recent tour of Tanga region.
Yesterday, the Chadema MP, who chairs the newly formed committee, confirmed to The Citizen that he had written to the Speaker, seeking his intervention before the "purpoted EPA report" is presented to the President.
"I have, in my capacity as the chairman of the committee, requested the Speaker to advise the Government on the direction it is taking with the EPA investigations," Mr Kabwe said in a telephone interview.
He said the Mwanyika-led team "is doing is illegal and only meant to buy time to prevent the charging in a court of the masterminds of the EPA scam".
Mr Kabwe added: "There have been reports that Mwanyika and company are preparing to hand over a report on EPA to President Kikwete. The team was not supposed to give any new report but to take action against the suspects named in the investigation by audit firm Ernst and Young."
He said the committee hoped the Speaker would advise the President "against entertaining any delays by the Mwanyika team by accepting a report instead of demanding that they crack the whip, as directed".
Contacted for comment on Monday night, the Deputy Speaker, Ms Anne Makinda, said she was not aware of any letter written by the parliamentary team. She said the committee was duty bound to notify her office first about any planned meeting and its agenda and said nothing of the sort had happened.
"Such a letter must have the consent of all committee members and not written by an individual," she said, adding that investigations into the EPA rip-off were initiated by the Government before the formation of the Zitto committee. This, according to the deputy speaker, would make it difficult for the committee to deal with the matter effectively.
But according to Mr Kabwe, no procedure was broken by writing the letter as he did it under the privileges enjoyed by those who chair parliamentary committees.
"The decision to forward the letter to the Speaker followed our committee's meeting with the management of Bank of Tanzania (BoT), during which we scrutinised its audited accounts for last year."
He added: "Because parliamentary procedures require that committees table their reports every April, I, as the chairman, acted on the EPA issue because it is urgent and could not wait until next year."
But informed that Ms Makinda had denied knowledge of the letter, the Kigoma MP said she may not be aware of it as he had handed it to Speaker Sitta.
But asked to show The Citizen a copy, Mr Kabwe declined, saying that doing so would contravene parliamentary regulations on the disclosure of official documents.
"But there is nothing to hide because EPA is a serious national issue that requires all of us to play our roles appropriately."
He said the letter was copied to BoT. The revelation of parliamentary committee's letter to the Speaker follows an exclusive report by The Citizen that the Mwanyika team had failed to recover Sh90 billion fraudulently paid out by the BoT through EPA account transactions with 13 companies, among the 22 implicated in the mega scandal.
The 13 companies include VB Associates, Mibale Farm Company, Bencon International Limited, Clayton Marketing Limited, Kiloluma &Brothers and Kernel Limited.
Others are Excellent Services Limited, Rashtas (T) Limited, G&T international, Venus Hotels Limited, Money Planners and Consultants Limited and Maltan Mining Company Limited.
The presidential task force, according to reliable sources, only managed to collect Sh43 billion out of the Sh133 billion. However, even that figure has variously been questioned because of contradictory statements by government officials.
Mr Mwanyika and Finance minister Mustafa Mkullo are on record as declaring that the task force had managed to trace about Sh65 billion.
But BoT officials said the supposedly recovered money was not in the bank's custody, adding that it had no special account for such a purpose.
The EPA report, according to official sources, has been finalised and is to be presented to President Kikwete soon. The report is said to contain raft of suggestions, including further pursuit of suspects and suing companies that have failed to repay the money.
Yesterday, Mr Zitto said the committee would not have anything to present to President Kikwete, claiming that it had failed to carry out its mandate. He cited a letter by the Chief Secretary, dated January 9, spelling out the task force's expectations.
According to the terms of reference, President Kikwete directed the task force to, among other things, investigate and take legal action against companies and individuals implicated in the EPA scandal. He also told the team to recover all the money stolen from the BoT.
Reported by Tom Mosoba, Mkinga Mkinga, Bernard James and Polycarp Machira
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