Corruption eats up 20pc of govt budget
9th June 2013
Corruption now eats up 20 percent of the monies earmarked for the countrys development effort even as the government claims to have perennial shortages of funds to finance its general budget.
At that rate, the government will have lost a whopping Sh3.02 trillion in this years budget (2012/2013) amounting to Sh15,119,644 by June 30, this year.
This was revealed here on Friday evening at a workshop on capacity building to members of the budget committee, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Parliamentary Local Authorities Accounts Committee (LAAC) on corruption.
If the trend holds unchecked the government is going to lose a staggering Sh3.54 trillion from its tentative budget of Sh 17.7 trillion in 2013/2014 financial year to be announced officially next Thursday in Dodoma.
The workshop was jointly organized by the National Assembly and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) under the Legislative Support Project 2011-2015.
This revelation worsens the spending behaviour of the government considering that it has consistently failed to fully explore other avenues for revenue collection. Recently, Kisesa Member of Parliament Luhaga Mpinga (CCM) revealed that the government was losing a staggering Sh2.870 trillion every year due to its failure to collect tax from various sectors.
The MP singled out the telecommunication, fishing, forestry and mining sectors as some of major tax defaulters.
Mpina said various studies conducted both within the country and abroad showed Tanzania loses Sh525bn/- in tax evasion every year from the mining sector alone.
He said another Sh600 billion is lost in much the same way within the telecommunication industry -- as is Sh362 billion lost in fishing industry.
The MP said the situation was worse in the informal sector, where as data showed the government has been losing Sh 1.3 trillion annually.
These financial trends were worrisome, as verified by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Ludovick Utouh, who in April this year released various government audited financial reports for 2011/2012 year which also revealed that the government had lost Sh789.883 billion through tax exemptions over the period under review.
According to CAG, tax exemptions had reached Sh1.8 trillion by 2011/2012 financial.
At last Fridays workshop, Magu Urban MP Dr Festus Limbu (CCM) presented a paper on the roles of parliamentary committees and parliament in fighting corruption in Tanzania and said the Prevevention and Combating Corruption Bureau (PCCB) needs to be empowered to facilitate increased and more efficient operations.
He also took note of the perennial 20 per cent losses to corruption, and argued for the need for a strong anti-corruption watchdog.
We need to have a strong anti-corruption watchdog
at the moment our systems are not strong enough, as a result corruption has turned to be an ordinary thing. It is high time that the government brought a bill in the House to make PCCB autonomous, he said.
Dr Limbu noted that the country had reached a stage at which the general public regards the countrys corrupt individuals as heroes.
Special Seats MP Mary Mwanjelwa (CCM) said it was high time the government considered tabling a bill in Parliament aimed at giving the PCCB full autonomy in discharging its duties.
We have talked a lot and I think its time the government brings to this House a bill that will lead to the formation of a law that will make PCCB a fully autonomous bureau, she said.
The Head of School of Social Sciences at the University of Dodoma (UDOM), Prof Davis Mwamfupe said the government should stop meddling into the affairs of anti-graft watchdog when dealing with corruption cases.
Prof Mwamfupe was presenting a paper, on challenges facing Parliament and government in combating corruption in Tanzania.
He also added that corruption had taken new dimensions -- coming in various faces in itself a wake-up call to PCCB to also change techniques in a bid to deal with the culprits effectively.
Prof Mwamfupe also challenged the way Parliament was addressing issues related to corruption, adding that some MPs were more associated to the government than their voters -- which he said was also a sign of corruption.
The Minister of State, President's Office (Good Governance) George Mkuchika concurred with calls for a better equipped and empowered PCCB.
He noted that in other countries organs like the PCCB had powers to arrest, investigate and prosecute.
Mkuchika said that giving PCCB such powers would help curb current trends under which cases are delayed with the two institutions PCCB and DPP offices blaming each other for the delays.
He added that the government will also propose for the inclusion in the new constitution issues related to corruption as the current constitution does say much about corruption.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
Mbona VAT tunalipa sawa tu Jamani?? au Matajiri wana rate tofauti ni 18%