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- Feb 6, 2015
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Dar es Salaam. Recently, President John Magufuli dissolved the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) board and sacked its chairman on the grounds that it approved the depositing of Sh26 billion in fixed deposit accounts in three different banks.
Reacting to the news, a former TRA board member says the President may have erred because the mandate on how TRA money should be managed rests on its management and not the board.
Mr Josephat Kandege, who resigned from the board eight months ago due to conflict of interests, told The Citizen yesterday that the Board has nothing to do with financial management and day to day activities of the Authority.
He said such transactions, which involve banking and withdrawing of funds are being done at the managerial level.
Mr Kandege, who is also a Member of Parliament for Kalambo constituency (CCM) in Rukwa Region, said: “It should be clear that the Board of Directors has nothing to do with managerial transactions. It has no mandate to suggest on internal expenditures.”
Mr Kandege resigned from the Board in April this year after being appointed a member and vice chairman of the Parliamentary Budget Committee. Among other things, the Committee supervises TRA operations and the minister for Finance is also among those who are answerable to the Committee. However, when reached for comment, the Commissioner General of TRA, Mr Alphayo Kidata, declined to comment saying he could not say anything on something that the President has made a firm decision about.
On a different note, though, former Kigoma South MP David Kafulila expressed doubts that the formation of a new board may bring the expected changes at TRA because some of the sacked members would return to the board.
“There are those who become members by virtue of their positions. Since they are still holding those positions, they will automatically become members of the new board,” he clarified.
According to the TRA Act of 1995 the Authority’s board chairman is a presidential appointee based on recommendations of the Finance minister.
Members who are included by the virtue of their positions are the Governor of the central bank, TRA Commissioner General as well as permanent secretaries of ministries of Finance for the Union and Zanzibar governments. Mr Kafulila said the decision to dissolve the board have sent home a minority members (appointees of the Finance minister) who probably had no power to dictate the resolutions of the board.
“The new board will not change anything because already there is big number of senior government officials, whose positions guarantees their membership despite the fact that they were sitting in the just dissolved board,” he argued.
Iringa Urban MP Peter Msigwa (Chadema) said the decision would not be complete if the TRA management would not be sacked as well.
“Disciplinary measures should also be taken against the TRA management itself as they were the first to suggest on the action, with a full understanding that it was against the government stand,” he argued.
For his part Kigoma Urban MP Zitto Kabwe said the government should not play the role of the banks adding that it was wrong for it to direct all the money from public institutions to the central bank.
“The central bank doesn’t lend but commercial banks do. Any sensible economist will never support what the government is doing now and these measures will not survive longer,” he said
According to him, there is no law that has been broken by TRA board and its management, saying the directive by President on fixed deposits by public institutions was wrong sensibly. “I think the President and his government shall continue to pursue anti corruption drive and ensuring that taxes are being paid. Where TRA keeps money is so minor an issue,” he noted.''
Source: The Citizen
Reacting to the news, a former TRA board member says the President may have erred because the mandate on how TRA money should be managed rests on its management and not the board.
Mr Josephat Kandege, who resigned from the board eight months ago due to conflict of interests, told The Citizen yesterday that the Board has nothing to do with financial management and day to day activities of the Authority.
He said such transactions, which involve banking and withdrawing of funds are being done at the managerial level.
Mr Kandege, who is also a Member of Parliament for Kalambo constituency (CCM) in Rukwa Region, said: “It should be clear that the Board of Directors has nothing to do with managerial transactions. It has no mandate to suggest on internal expenditures.”
Mr Kandege resigned from the Board in April this year after being appointed a member and vice chairman of the Parliamentary Budget Committee. Among other things, the Committee supervises TRA operations and the minister for Finance is also among those who are answerable to the Committee. However, when reached for comment, the Commissioner General of TRA, Mr Alphayo Kidata, declined to comment saying he could not say anything on something that the President has made a firm decision about.
On a different note, though, former Kigoma South MP David Kafulila expressed doubts that the formation of a new board may bring the expected changes at TRA because some of the sacked members would return to the board.
“There are those who become members by virtue of their positions. Since they are still holding those positions, they will automatically become members of the new board,” he clarified.
According to the TRA Act of 1995 the Authority’s board chairman is a presidential appointee based on recommendations of the Finance minister.
Members who are included by the virtue of their positions are the Governor of the central bank, TRA Commissioner General as well as permanent secretaries of ministries of Finance for the Union and Zanzibar governments. Mr Kafulila said the decision to dissolve the board have sent home a minority members (appointees of the Finance minister) who probably had no power to dictate the resolutions of the board.
“The new board will not change anything because already there is big number of senior government officials, whose positions guarantees their membership despite the fact that they were sitting in the just dissolved board,” he argued.
Iringa Urban MP Peter Msigwa (Chadema) said the decision would not be complete if the TRA management would not be sacked as well.
“Disciplinary measures should also be taken against the TRA management itself as they were the first to suggest on the action, with a full understanding that it was against the government stand,” he argued.
For his part Kigoma Urban MP Zitto Kabwe said the government should not play the role of the banks adding that it was wrong for it to direct all the money from public institutions to the central bank.
“The central bank doesn’t lend but commercial banks do. Any sensible economist will never support what the government is doing now and these measures will not survive longer,” he said
According to him, there is no law that has been broken by TRA board and its management, saying the directive by President on fixed deposits by public institutions was wrong sensibly. “I think the President and his government shall continue to pursue anti corruption drive and ensuring that taxes are being paid. Where TRA keeps money is so minor an issue,” he noted.''
Source: The Citizen
