Meremeta & TANGOLD Revealed!

[ZeMarcopolo]

TANGOLD, Meremeta back in the spotlight:As Bomani team seeks deeper probe into whole affair

THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam

THE presidential mining sector review committee has called for an official investigation into the supposedly government-owned TANGOLD Limited company, whose controversial list of shareholders includes former Cabinet minister Andrew Chenge and the reportedly deceased ex-governor of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), Daudi Ballali.
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Hii haitofautiani sana na slogan aliyosaggest Kitila Mkumbo!

 

[Maverick]

Uchunguzi wa nini tena wakati kila kitu kipo wazi an wahusika wanajulikana?

 

[Nemesis]

Uchunguzi wa nini tena wakati kila kitu kipo wazi an wahusika wanajulikana?

Hiyo ni njia ya kukwepa kutamka wezi wetu, mpaka atokee mtu/watu jasiri kama kamati ya Mwakyembe ndiyo watakaotaja kwamba wahusika ni ...... wachukuliwe hatua. Hata PCCB, CAG, AG, DPP wapo kimya... nani wa kuwafunga kengere mafisadi wa Meremeta na Tangold? Waheshimiwa wabunge mpo?

 

[Kitila Mkumbo]

President Kikwete is understood to have ordered the incumbent Minister for Energy and Minerals, William Ngeleja, to study the Bomani committee’s report findings and submit his own recommendations to State House for further action.

What recommendations again? I thought this is what the committee was doing and what has done? Do these guys have any sense of timeliness?

 

[Alpha]

The commitee suggests setting up a commitee to investigate further.

Six months from now the new commitee will reveal nothing that is not already known and suggest the Ministry Of Energy and Minerals investigate further.

Another six months goes by and the Ministry of Energy and Minerals will reveal that they have discovered some fishy deals involving TANGOLD (duh!) and suggest the PCCB investigate further.

Another six months down the road and the PCCB will say indeed there were some fishy deals but they cannot prosecute anybody because of immunity. Suggesting a parliamentary commitee be setup to investigate what can be done.

Another Six months and a the parliamentary commitee will suggest we let the old men who have stolen from us to rest.

By that time another corrupt and incompetent leader will be exposed and everyone will forget this.

and Tanzanians (incuding our President) will wonder why with all our natural wealth we are wallowing in poverty.

 

[Rev. Kishoka]

The Saga still continues and no answers as usual!

 

[Dua]

The Saga still continues and no answers as usual!

Tumepata pambo zuri sana pale Magogoni wala usitie shaka maana Banyamulenge waliingia kwa shabaha kubwa hata goli la Maradona halikufua dafu hata baada ya kuomba msamaha alipozulu England.

 

[BAK]

http://www.afdevinfo.com/htmlreports/org/org_60044.html
http://www.afdevinfo.com/htmlreports/org/org_60039.html

Failed Army Gold Mine to Cost Dar $14m

By MIKE MANDE
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
THE EAST AFRICAN
Monday, April 21, 2003

THE JOINT gold mining venture between the Tanzania army and a South African private firm has collapsed, occasioning a loss estimated at over $14 million.

The collapse has been attributed to lack of recapitalisation of the gold mining venture by the South African financial advisory firm, Triennex (Pty) Ltd, which has since pulled out of the gold mining deal. The two partners had formed a company called Meremeta – Kiswahili for "glittering" – to run an underground gold mining operation at Geita in the Lake Victoria gold zone.

Both Triennex and the Tanzania Ministry of Defence and National Service have confirmed the collapse, but denied there were any dubious dealings or siphoning off of proceeds that could have caused the collapse.

In an interview from Johannesburg, Triennex officials said their firm, which funded the Meremeta project, had complied with good governance requirements because it was a public company accountable to shareholders.

Triennex managing director Russel Schwartz confirmed to The EastAfrican that his firm pulled out of the Meremeta project due to funding problems in the third quarter of 2001.

"The decision to close the underground mining operation was based upon external factors over which we had no control. There was no longer any role for us," he said.

Asked to comment, Major General S.H. Boma of the Tanzania People's Defence Forces (TPDF) said: "The response given by Mr Schwartz is correct and there is no need for us to repeat the same."

The Meremeta project was formed in 1998 as a joint operation between Tanzania's Ministry of Defence and the South African financial advisory firm, in which 50 per cent shares was held by the government and the other half by Triennex (Pty) Ltd.

The shares held by Triennex were of "subservient status" in that no benefits in the assets or in the income of Meremeta would be permitted to accrue to Triennex in any way.

The Meremeta company was set up in London, UK, as the parties required British jurisdiction, believing that the UK's rigid company legislation and the Bank of England's rules provided the best jurisdiction in which to ensure compliance and transparency.

It was set up to assist in the development of the informal gold mining sector, which was primarily in the hands of artisinal miners working under dangerous conditions underground and using highly toxic recovery processes.

Minister for Energy and Minerals Daniel Yona told The EastAfrican in Dar es Salaam that his Ministry had no idea about the pullout of the South African firm from the gold deal.

The Meremeta company managed to raise Tsh78 billion ($78 million) by 2001 for investment in the underground mining operation south of Geita township in the heart of the gold artisanal mining area.

Diplomatic sources in Dar have hinted that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US were behind the pull out by Triennex because some of the financiers, who were mostly Americans, withdrew funding for the project.

 

[Azimio Jipya]

Let it be, if Pandora box opening will result to the end of udhalimu, Uhujumu and Ufisadi, i would rather see tha take place than Amani, Mshikamano na Utulivu that encourages Uhujumu with no fear that there are 90% of Tanzanians who live in abject poverty.

Revolution will not be televised!

Haswaa!

Na bora mapema kuliko kuchelewa.

 

[BAK]

Slaa wants House team to investigate Meremeta

By Tom Mosoba, Dodoma
THE CITIZEN

Opposition MP Willibrod Slaa yesterday said he will push for the formation of a special parliamentary select committee to investigate the controversial Meremeta and Tangold companies, which have been linked to mega corruption within the Government. Dr Slaa, the Karatu MP, told Parliament that he planned to file a private member's motion should the Government not produce the audited accounts of the two companies that he claimed were suspiciously being protected.
He said he had asked the Finance and Economic Affairs minister Mustafa Mkulo to table the audited accounts of the two companies and shed some light on their operations before the Budget is approved.I have already issued notice of the opposition's intention to file the private member's motion to establish a House committee to investigate the two companies if the minister fails to give an appropriate answer, said Dr Slaa, the Chadema secretary general.

The MP, who has persistently queried corruption in the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), told The Citizen later in an interview that he had been reliably informed that Meremeta and Tangold had never been audited though the Government claimed to own them.The records we have indicate neither BoT nor the Treasury have audited the accounts of these companies that have transacted billions of shillings in deals through the central bank, he said.

The Finance minister, he added, should also produce account details showing the business transactions and the real owners of the overseas accounts operated by the two companies.If we do not get the desired answers, I will move to call for a committee similar to the Richmond one to inquire into the shady activities of Meremeta and Tangold.

It is a serious matter as they could be conduits for mega corruption inside the Government itself that is dangerous for our nation, he said in the interview shortly after hinting of his move on the floor of Parliament.

Dr Slaa's motion would be the response by the opposition bench in the House whose official leader, Mr Hamad Rashid Mohammed, on Monday, during presentation of the alternative budget, listed Meremeta as one of firms involved in the suspect BoT deals that they were requesting the Government to explain.These firms have accounts overseas and nobody seems to be auditing them. We want to know if they have been audited and by whom or else Parliament should take over the matter in the interest of the public, Dr Slaa said.

Meremeta, according to Dr Slaa, opened an account in the United Kingdom, while Tangold had one in Mauritius. He said that while it had been revealed that Tangold has more than Sh10 billion in its local bank account, nobody knows how much money is held in the overseas accounts.

The MP also said he was demanding an explanation on corruption in Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), alleging that the public may soon be compelled to pay a private company billions of shillings in compensation for an act of corruption by the agency.

TRA has written officially confirming it had wrongly levied Sh53 million on a transport company that had its operating certificates withdrawn. The result was that the firm with a fleet of 63 vehicles closed shop but is suing for compensation, he said. He blamed the mistake on official negligence and corruption.Earlier, the Karatu MP had told Parliament that he would not vote for the Budget presented by minister Mkulo because income and expenditure figures did not tally with those provided in the books of accounts.

There is an unaccounted for difference of about Sh130 billion that demands an explanation or else the minister and his team should draw up new accounts and file them afresh for Parliament to approve proper records of income and expenditure, he said. The opposition MP said the Finance Bill 2008 gave powers to the minister to revise estimates that will be approved by the House.

This, he added, was illegal because income and expenditure approved by Parliament could not be reversed by an executive order.He said he was opposed the Budget because the �common man will suffer through proposals by the minister. He accused Mr Mkulo for raising VAT on sugar and failing to mitigate on effects of past fuel tax increases.

According to reports made available to The Citizen, Tangold, which pocketed about Sh17 billion, was registered in Mauritius in 2005, as an offshore company, contrary to what Parliament was told last August. An offshore company incorporation is a simple process and the reasons the formation of these entities, include privacy, asset protection, tax savings, lawsuit protection, flexible business laws and confidentiality.

Further details indicate that Tangold was registered on April 8, 2005, as an offshore company in Mauritius.Ten months after it was registered, Tangold, managed to register as a branch of a foreign company at the Business Registration and Licensing Authority in Dar es Salaam, and was given a certificate of compliance in 2006.

Tangold is said to have taken over all the business and debts of Meremeta Gold, which suddenly collapsed after being paid Sh155 billion by the BoT through a South African bank. A few months after the defunct Meremeta was dubiously paid billions for the unknown expenditures, Tangold also received from BoT a total of $13,736,628.73 (Sh17.1billion) through a Dar es Salaam bank in 2005.

 

[Halisi]

SIJA edit: Pinda anasema:

MEREMETA, Tangold, Ngeleja naona tutamuonea. Kwa mazingira ya jambo lenyewe suala la Meremeta limejikita ndani ya JWTZ, haukuwa mradi tumeukuta uraiani in unique situation... mimi kuanza kusema kila kitu siwezi.... Ni suala linalohusiana kwa karibu sana na mambo ya ulinzi na usalama wetu, ni lazima tulilinde,,, Kama mtaona inatosha sawa, kama mnataka kunisulubu nitakuwapo pale kwa ajili hiyo

EPA naona ina mvuto mkubwa sana. Kuna fedha ambazo watanzania wanataka kujua zimetokaje BOT, mradi zilikua BoT katika chombo cha serikali, haiwezekani ukamwachia mtu tu akachukua hizo fedha,. Hoja hapa zimekwenda kwa nani, utaratibu umefuatwa? Rais kasema tumwachie, wote tuna interest, sasa kwa mtazamao wangu shauku ni kubwa, watu wangependa leo, nafirikri tufanye subira, muda wenyewe umekwisha labda sana sana watasema muda uongezwe, lakini hapo baadaye tutaulizana maswali oooh zilikuwa za mhindi, ooh zilikua za nani!!! Naomba nitoe rai kwa muda uliobaki tusubiri. Nitakwambia sijui, hata mimi Mwanyika nikimuuliza anasema... Liko la Ballali marehemu na Slaa, serikali itoe taarifa, halafu kuna mahali alisema Slaa, kutotoa taarifa kaa tunachezea, angetamani iundwe kamati ya kuchunguza kifo cha Ballali! Sasa sijui lakini naelewa iko connected kwamba alijua siri, hili wazo kuhusu usiri kama kwamba BAllali ... huyu mtu amefariki na ndugu zake wanasema amefariki, sasa kuendelea kumzungumza huyu marehemu. Kifo chake hofu iko wapi? Labda muombe postmortem, nani asiyejua kwamba hakuwapo. Tungoje taarifa ya mapesa yetu, kama watamtaja basi tungoje, Mkisema niseme, labda ndugu zake, lakini si serikali, hamtutendei haki. Na kwa merehemu akifa, kwa kweli ngumu sana.... Nadhani kwa sasa serikali haioni sababu ya Kamati, EPA kama anahyusika atatajwa tu... Hawa wanasukuma ajenda wana sababu tu. Kama kuna ushahidi zaidi ya tulio nao mtu anaweza kuuleta tukautazama.

KIWIRA nalo mimi najua Dk. Slaa akisema mpaka unaogopa... Wakaniletea maelezo marefu sana. Wakaleta itakusaidia? Mimi siwezi kuingia katika jambo technical, nilidhani ili kuwapa fair pix hii Kiwira, mturuhusu, Ngeleja aje na kauli ya serikali ili apate muda wa kulizungumza kwa upana wake, ili kujua ... Kiwira wakati ikiuzwa ilikua dead proj ilikua katika hali mbaya sana.. Ili tuweze kuwa na benefit ilikuwa smooth exercise ilikuwa interest kupata mwekezaji, ningeomba nipate more details.

 

[Bongolander]

Haha...These statements makes me feel kuwa mtu tuliyemuona makini ameanza kwenda astray. Ni ajbu kama na PM naye anawaogopa mafisadi, kama PM kutoka uslama anawaogopa mafisadi, kutakuwa na maswali 200 kidogo. Ni kweli anawaogopa? au anawalinda?
Jeshi ni la Tanzania, kwanini watanzania tufichwe habari za jeshi letu, hata wanajeshi wenyewe wafichwe habari za jeshi letu? Au jeshi letu limeanza kutumia kama chombo cha kufanikisha ufisadi wa watu? Na kutumia excuse ya usalam wa taifa letu. ?????? I think PM needs to be serious on this.

 

[The Khoisan]

Ama kweli Bongo ni ya Wadanganyika. Hivi hayo ndoyo majibu ya PM wetu kwa wananchi. kama ndiyo hivyo basi tumeliwa kwelikweli. Akina Slaa wametoa mada amboyo inaeleweka halafu majibu ndiyo hayo ya kubashia. Nimechoka.

 

[Halisi]

Haha...These statements makes me feel kuwa mtu tuliyemuona makini ameanza kwenda astray. Ni ajbu kama na PM naye anawaogopa mafisadi, kama PM kutoka uslama anawaogopa mafisadi, kutakuwa na maswali 200 kidogo. Ni kweli anawaogopa? au anawalinda?
Jeshi ni la Tanzania, kwanini watanzania tufichwe habari za jeshi letu, hata wanajeshi wenyewe wafichwe habari za jeshi letu? Au jeshi letu limeanza kutumia kama chombo cha kufanikisha ufisadi wa watu? Na kutumia excuse ya usalam wa taifa letu. ?????? I think PM needs to be serious on this.

Anasema UONGO!!!!! Ni uongo, amedanganywa na amedanganyika!!! Its is serious Meremeta na wenzake ni UTAPELI wa Kimataifa, SIRI gani za jeshin unawaficha Watanzania unawapa Wazungu wa Afrika Kusini... NEDBANK ni ya SA, Deep Green wakurugenzi ni Wa SOUTH AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[Tshala]

Watanzania mwaka huu naona tutavurugikiwa akili, maana kila kukicha linaibuka jambo na yote hayana suluhu. Nchi inakwenda wapi jamani, Jk yuko busy na mambo ya Jongo kuliko ya nyumbani kwake kunakowaka moto. MASWALI NI MENGI KULIKO MAJIBU!!!!!! Mungu Ibariki Tanzania.

PM unatuchanganya kwakweli....

 

[Gagnija]

CAG anasema ofisi yake haijawahi kuona hesabu za Meremeta, Benki kuu wanasema Meremeta haipo kwenye orodha ya makampuni ya serikali, Pinda anasema Meremeta inahusu usalama wa nchi hivyo hawezi kuigusa. Huyu ndiye mtu tuliyeambiwa ni makini ! Very discouraging.

 

[Kilbark]

He has to state what he has been told to. Political party whip and all kind of the unecessary parliament bureaucratic whips and procedures to respond motions or bills. All in all PM represents the govt of URT he is answerable he has to answer something straight with the plan of action by the govt.......

 

[Makelele]

Hawa ndio CCM, yale yote aliyosema Dr. Slaa baadhi ndio hayo majibu tumepata. Ina maana MEREMETA ulikuwamradi wa Jeshi. Hatukatai MEREMETA kuwa ya Jeshi, na tulielezwa hilo tangu mwanzo. Suala ni kuwa kama ilikuwa ni mradi wa Jeshi ulizalisha kiasi gani, kwanini CAG akataliwe kukagua mahesabu yake. Na kampuni kama hii yaweza kuonyeshwa ilikuwa ya Jeshi, kwani jeshi linaendesha shughuli ngapi za kiuchumi ambazo ziko wazi. Kaeni mkao wa kula kuna siu utasikia jeshi liliuza UNGA, na haitafuatiliwa manake ni kwa sababu lilifanya hivyo kwa mambo ya ulinzi na usalama. Sasa hivi yatatokea ya Noriega.

 

[Steve Dii]

Anasema UONGO!!!!! Ni uongo, amedanganywa na amedanganyika!!! Its is serious Meremeta na wenzake ni UTAPELI wa Kimataifa, SIRI gani za jeshin unawaficha Watanzania unawapa Wazungu wa Afrika Kusini... NEDBANK ni ya SA, Deep Green wakurugenzi ni Wa SOUTH AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Halisi, sidhani kama amedanganywa..... mimi nahisi hapa wameamua kudanganya. wameamua kuanza kuvuruga kila aina ya uchunguzi kwa kila mmojawao kuja na maelezo anayoyajua yeye na ku-create confusion. Ndiyo maana naona anataka Mh. Ngereja naye alete maelezo yake katika baadhi ya mambo. Atakuja na kuleta maneno yanayokinzana kwa kiwango kikubwa na yale waliyosema wengine, hivyo kila mmoja kuwa katika utata ambao utajumuika na kuonekana kuwa wote hawaelewi yaliyotendeka katika hizi skendo hivyo hawana hatia plus the fact kwamba Ballali hayupo... maelezo yote katika kukamilisha maswali yanayoweza kuulizwa yatakuwa na dead end...

 

[Halisi]

NAIBU SPIKA, ANNA MAKINDA ANASEMA, SHERIA YA HAKI, MAADILI NA MADARAKA YA BUNGE inasema; "SI ruhusa kuongelea mambo ya ulinzi na usalama isipokua kama Rais atakua ameridhia.."

Maana yake ni kwamba baada ya Pinda kusema Meremeta ni suala la USALAMA basi ndio kusema LIMEZIKWA!!!! Wakati nafahamu kuwa tayari uchunguzi wa kuweza kuwafikisha mahakamani wahusika wote wa Meremeta ulikua katika hatua za mwisho, sasa KULIKONI PINDA!!???