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- Feb 11, 2007
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Posted Date:: 24.12.2007 @03:18 EAT
No foul play on BoT-Epa report
By Bernard James
THE CITIZEN
Controller and Auditor General Ludovic Utouh denied yesterday that the Government was masterminding a plot to�doctor� the much awaited probe report on the Banl of Tanzania�s External Payments Arrears.
Mr Utouh said in a two-page statement that his office was acting independently, adding that there would be no alteration of the contents of the EPA reports.
�I have received this report today. I will go through the report before forwarding it the President in the first week of January next year,� he said.
Mr Utouh�s statement comes in the wake of pressure from the Opposition, which has demanded that the findings be published immediately, saying delayed release of the report suggested that there was a plot to�doctor� its contents.
The CAG said the delay had nothing to do with any such moves to hide the truth on the EPA investigation.�The report has not been deliberately sat upon as is believed.
This is a crucial document which must be carefully studied to make sure that all recommendations it contains are appropriate,� Mr Utouh said.
He also defended the international auditing firm Ernst &Young which carried out the investigation, saying it had used well trained experts from Japan, Britain, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania.
But while the CAG states that the report will be handed over to the President next week, Finance minister Zakia Meghji said on Friday that the findings would be released early this week.
According to the Terms of Reference, Ernst & Young was also tasked to review the BoT audit report for the financial year 2005/6.
The firm was thus required to submit two reports � one on EPA accounts and the other on BoT�s accounts for 2005/6.
The EPA issue has rocked BoT in recent years with the Opposition claiming that $800 million (Sh960 billion at current exchange rates) was stashed away through shady transactions.
It is alleged that a phantom company, Kagoda Investments Co, was paid $30 million (Sh36 billion) in September 2005 in one of the dubious transactions.
Investigations conducted by Deloitte and Touche, which was tasked to audit BoT accounts before their contract was suspended, established that the company presented forged documents to claim EPA money.
The company was formed in September 2005 and existed for just three months before its registration documents vanished from the Business Registration and Licensing Authority offices.
No foul play on BoT-Epa report
By Bernard James
THE CITIZEN
Controller and Auditor General Ludovic Utouh denied yesterday that the Government was masterminding a plot to�doctor� the much awaited probe report on the Banl of Tanzania�s External Payments Arrears.
Mr Utouh said in a two-page statement that his office was acting independently, adding that there would be no alteration of the contents of the EPA reports.
�I have received this report today. I will go through the report before forwarding it the President in the first week of January next year,� he said.
Mr Utouh�s statement comes in the wake of pressure from the Opposition, which has demanded that the findings be published immediately, saying delayed release of the report suggested that there was a plot to�doctor� its contents.
The CAG said the delay had nothing to do with any such moves to hide the truth on the EPA investigation.�The report has not been deliberately sat upon as is believed.
This is a crucial document which must be carefully studied to make sure that all recommendations it contains are appropriate,� Mr Utouh said.
He also defended the international auditing firm Ernst &Young which carried out the investigation, saying it had used well trained experts from Japan, Britain, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania.
But while the CAG states that the report will be handed over to the President next week, Finance minister Zakia Meghji said on Friday that the findings would be released early this week.
According to the Terms of Reference, Ernst & Young was also tasked to review the BoT audit report for the financial year 2005/6.
The firm was thus required to submit two reports � one on EPA accounts and the other on BoT�s accounts for 2005/6.
The EPA issue has rocked BoT in recent years with the Opposition claiming that $800 million (Sh960 billion at current exchange rates) was stashed away through shady transactions.
It is alleged that a phantom company, Kagoda Investments Co, was paid $30 million (Sh36 billion) in September 2005 in one of the dubious transactions.
Investigations conducted by Deloitte and Touche, which was tasked to audit BoT accounts before their contract was suspended, established that the company presented forged documents to claim EPA money.
The company was formed in September 2005 and existed for just three months before its registration documents vanished from the Business Registration and Licensing Authority offices.