FOLLOWING reports of misuse of funds at the Tanzania Industrial Research and Development Organization (TIRDO), an oversight parliamentary committee has directed the Control and Auditor General (CAG) to conduct a special audit on the corporation.

This is despite the fact that the CAG slapped TIRDO with a qualified opinion for its financial records for the fiscal year 2010/11.The Parliamentary Public Organizations Accounts Committee (POAC) also declined to endorse the organization's books of accounts for the respective year, describing them as 'flawed.'

"We will not endorse the financial records until the CAG conducts a special audit on your accounts," POAC's Acting Chairman Muhammad Amour Chomboh (Magomeni-CCM) told the management and board of directors of TIRDO when it appeared before the committee . Among other directives, the parliamentary committee also directed the management to prepare legal charges against immediate former Director General of TIRDO, Dr Asifa Nanyaro, for allegedly embezzlement of public funds.

It was alleged during the committee meeting that the former TIRDO boss had approved for himself a whopping 22m/- per annum as housing allowance and yet he was residing in a house owned by the government. Dr Nanyaro retired in March, last year.In another development, members of the POAC expressed fears that some accounts of TIRDO could have been used for money laundering as it was revealed that there is some money which had been deposited in its accounts with people who have no business with it.

The said money, amounting to about 60m/- was deposited in some of TIRDO accounts by various senior officials of the police force and other institutions, who have no business dealings with the industrial research organization.The organization's Finance Manager, Mr Dominick Kyaruzi, revealed before the committee that there are some police officers, particularly office commanding districts (OCDs) who had been depositing money in a number of its bank accounts without any explanation.

This revelation irked the MPs who expressed concern that the trend could be a scheme meant to cleanse money obtained through ill means. Kilwa North legislator, Murtaza Magungu (CCM) and his Mwibara counterpart Kangi Lugola (CCM) queried as to whether the management of TIRDO had informed the bank on the matter to which he responded in affirmative.