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...Kama upo kwanini ufanywe siri?
Question marks on Chenge `probe`
2008-04-26 10:01:37
By Angel Navuri
The government yesterday declined to name the local security institutions said to be investigating the corruption allegations facing former Infrastructure Development minister Andrew Chenge.
Chenge resigned last week following allegations that he has deposited a suspicious 1.2bn/- into an offshore bank account in the UK.
He said in a letter to President Jakaya Kikwete that he was quitting to give the government time to find out the truth about the charges.
Reports on the existence of the account were first revealed by the UK`s Serious Frauds Office (SFO) and published in one of Britain`s highly rated newspapers, The Guardian.
The Minister of State in the President`s Office overseeing the Good Governance portfolio, Sofia Simba, told this paper yesterday that investigations on the matter had started.
However, she refused to name the institution or institutions assigned to undertake the task.
``All I can say at the moment is that the inquiry has started, but I cannot say who is conducting the investigations,`` she said.
The Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) has equally remained tight-lipped on whether it has started probing the former minister.
PCCB Director Edward Hoseah, who was approached by The Guardian on several occasions, was noncommittal.
Director of Criminal Investigations Robert Manumba could not be reached for comment, as he would not pick up his phone.
The Guardian UK had revealed that British investigators who had been involved in a three-year inquiry over a controversial military radar deal between Britain`s BAE Systems and the Tanzanian government had identified more than USD1 million in a Jersey (UK) bank account operated by Chenge.
The SFO is expected to decide whether to bring fresh corruption charges against BAE Systems within six weeks over the radar deal.
When interviewed on the matter, Chenge dismissed as baseless suggestions that the money in his offshore bank account came from the UK arms manufacturer.
However, he did not dispute the ownership of the money.
It has been reported that PCCBhas contacted authorities in the UK and Switzerland to establish whether the money is linked to the multi-million-pound secret commission payments made by BAE to certain individuals.
A lengthy SFO investigation in the UK revealed that some $12m (about 15bn/-) out of the deal�s total contract price had been diverted via Switzerland.
A cross-section of Members of Parliament interviewed have called on the government to seriously investigate the claims so that, if they are valid, appropriate measures can be taken against the former minister.
Mwanakwerekwe legislator Haji Juma Serewaji (CCM) said Chenge�s resignation was too little and came too late, adding: ``The government should conduct an investigation into all the allegations against him and make the findings public.``
He noted that members of the public were closely monitoring the goings-on and eagerly awaiting the outcome of the revelations of corruption scandals involving high-ranking government officers.
Long-serving politician Anna Abdallah (Special Seats, CCM), once a senior cabinet minister, stated that Chenge ought to have resigned soon after the claims against him had been made public ``rather than do so this belatedly``.
Chakechake MP Fatma Maghimbi (CUF) recommended that, if it was indeed true that Chenge had fraudulently obtained the money in question, then he should face the full wrath of the law.
John Cheyo, UDP legislator for Bariadi East, urged President Kikwete to take legal action against all errant ministers whose behaviour and actions were giving the government a bad name.
Dr Ali Tarab Ali (Konde, CUF) said it was outright wrong for Chenge to be included in the cabinet line-up announced after the recent reshuffle ``because his name formed part of the list of shame linked to grand corruption scandal allegations``.
Meanwhile, a well-placed source has confided to The Guardian that no investigation is being conducted at the moment on Chenge ``but the government will rely on findings by the UK team currently probing the scandal allegations levelled against him``.
SOURCE: Guardian
Question marks on Chenge `probe`
2008-04-26 10:01:37
By Angel Navuri
The government yesterday declined to name the local security institutions said to be investigating the corruption allegations facing former Infrastructure Development minister Andrew Chenge.
Chenge resigned last week following allegations that he has deposited a suspicious 1.2bn/- into an offshore bank account in the UK.
He said in a letter to President Jakaya Kikwete that he was quitting to give the government time to find out the truth about the charges.
Reports on the existence of the account were first revealed by the UK`s Serious Frauds Office (SFO) and published in one of Britain`s highly rated newspapers, The Guardian.
The Minister of State in the President`s Office overseeing the Good Governance portfolio, Sofia Simba, told this paper yesterday that investigations on the matter had started.
However, she refused to name the institution or institutions assigned to undertake the task.
``All I can say at the moment is that the inquiry has started, but I cannot say who is conducting the investigations,`` she said.
The Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) has equally remained tight-lipped on whether it has started probing the former minister.
PCCB Director Edward Hoseah, who was approached by The Guardian on several occasions, was noncommittal.
Director of Criminal Investigations Robert Manumba could not be reached for comment, as he would not pick up his phone.
The Guardian UK had revealed that British investigators who had been involved in a three-year inquiry over a controversial military radar deal between Britain`s BAE Systems and the Tanzanian government had identified more than USD1 million in a Jersey (UK) bank account operated by Chenge.
The SFO is expected to decide whether to bring fresh corruption charges against BAE Systems within six weeks over the radar deal.
When interviewed on the matter, Chenge dismissed as baseless suggestions that the money in his offshore bank account came from the UK arms manufacturer.
However, he did not dispute the ownership of the money.
It has been reported that PCCBhas contacted authorities in the UK and Switzerland to establish whether the money is linked to the multi-million-pound secret commission payments made by BAE to certain individuals.
A lengthy SFO investigation in the UK revealed that some $12m (about 15bn/-) out of the deal�s total contract price had been diverted via Switzerland.
A cross-section of Members of Parliament interviewed have called on the government to seriously investigate the claims so that, if they are valid, appropriate measures can be taken against the former minister.
Mwanakwerekwe legislator Haji Juma Serewaji (CCM) said Chenge�s resignation was too little and came too late, adding: ``The government should conduct an investigation into all the allegations against him and make the findings public.``
He noted that members of the public were closely monitoring the goings-on and eagerly awaiting the outcome of the revelations of corruption scandals involving high-ranking government officers.
Long-serving politician Anna Abdallah (Special Seats, CCM), once a senior cabinet minister, stated that Chenge ought to have resigned soon after the claims against him had been made public ``rather than do so this belatedly``.
Chakechake MP Fatma Maghimbi (CUF) recommended that, if it was indeed true that Chenge had fraudulently obtained the money in question, then he should face the full wrath of the law.
John Cheyo, UDP legislator for Bariadi East, urged President Kikwete to take legal action against all errant ministers whose behaviour and actions were giving the government a bad name.
Dr Ali Tarab Ali (Konde, CUF) said it was outright wrong for Chenge to be included in the cabinet line-up announced after the recent reshuffle ``because his name formed part of the list of shame linked to grand corruption scandal allegations``.
Meanwhile, a well-placed source has confided to The Guardian that no investigation is being conducted at the moment on Chenge ``but the government will rely on findings by the UK team currently probing the scandal allegations levelled against him``.
SOURCE: Guardian
