Mkapa's first Minister of Finance, Daniel Yona, another senior pro-IPTL figure, likewise declared nonchalantly that the government could always foot the bill if Tanesco ran out of cash.
From early on, the Prevention of Corruption Bureau, which reports directly to the President, took a lively interest in IPTL. Edward Hoseah, Director of the Bureau and Co-ordinator of the government's anti-corruption strategy, actively pursued the case, and at one point was ready to arrest Rugemalira on corruption charges. Hoseah was systematically thwarted by the Bureau's Director General, Maj. Gen. A L Kamazima, who along with Chenge, repeatedly told the President that there was no evidence of corruption in IPTL.
I was struck by the fact that there was very little adverse commentary from the business community or from the opposition parties concerning IPTL. Looking for a critical local voice, I approached John Cheyo, an opposition Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). We met in the lobby of the Dar es Salaam Sheraton. It was not a good choice. As we talked, none other than James Rugemalira came over to greet him in the warmest manner. I hastily turned over my pile of newspaper cuttings so that he could not see what we were talking about. But it was too late. The following day, Cheyo held a press conference in which he sang the praises of private investments in the power industry, telling the government not to meddle with them! I later heard that he was aggressively anti-Rutabanzibwa in meetings of the PAC. On other occasions, Cheyo has been a strong critic of official misuse of public funds.