The Radar Scandal: Investigation & Progress

[Hume]

Kutokana na taarifa zilizoingia kwenye wires this evening hapa London ni kuwa ile skendo ya Mtambo wa rada imeibuka umpya na kuna INVESTIGATION on the way na hawa jamaa wa SFO au serious fraud office wanaweza kuwatia mbaroni walio pewa pesa na BAE systems

Nadhani mnakumbuka kuwa CLAIRE SHORT alipiga kelele weee lakini ile TENDA iliendelea sasa hii ya Tanzania inaunganishwa na ile ya Saudi Arabia ambako for strategic reasons inaweza ikamalizwa kiaina lakini kwa Tanzania things are not rossy na balozi naye hayu8po sasa nadhani ubalozi hapa London wajiweke katika position yakujibu hizi shutuma nzito maana kuna na MP ambao washajiposition kutoliachia hili ili kuendana na hizo recomendation za TONI BLAIR's COMMISSION FOR AFRICA na mojawapo ilikuwa ni good governance

By the way hii mess sio ya JK bali ilikuwa na Ben Mkapa lakini still JK inabidi a clear hii mess

nikipata muda nitapost link ya stori hii

Nani kakuambia JK hahusiki hapa? Waziri wa mambo ya nje hana sehemu ktk hili?
Beni kama alipanga, Kikwete alitekeleza au hata ikawa mipango ya wote!!!

 

[Halisi]

Kuna Habari Kwamba Vithlani Alikua Dar Wiki Mbili Zilizopita, Kuna Jamaa Mmoja Wanayefahamiana Sana Wameonana

 

[BAK]

PCCB stays tight-lipped on new radar case confusion

THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam

THE Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) yesterday declined to comment on the ensuing confusion over the 28 million pounds sterling (approx. 70bn/-) military radar trial before a Dar es Salaam court.

PCCB spokesperson Ms Mary Mosha told THISDAY at her office in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the anti-graft watchdog was not prepared to issue any statement concerning latest developments in the controversial radar case now at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in the city.

’’On our part, we have already stated that the suspect (Shailesh Pragji Vithlani) is sought by our bureau, and that we currently don’t know where he is to be found,’’ the PCCB spokesperson said.

’’However, we are not issuing any new statements concerning Shailesh Vithlani and his counterparts,’’ Ms Mosha added.

Asked by THISDAY to explain the current confusion behind the case and whether or not the bureau intended to file any corruption charges against suspects related to the radar transaction, Ms Mosha flatly declined to give any comment.

On Monday this week, Ms Mosha announced at a news conference in the city that the PCCB had finally concluded its long-running, ’grand corruption’ investigation into the 2002 radar deal, and declared that prosecution proceedings had already been instituted against one of the key suspects, Vithlani.

The PCCB spokesperson said Vithlani, a businessman of Asian extraction and dual Tanzanian/British citizenship, was late last week formally charged at the Kisutu court in absentia, and an international arrest warrant issued for his arrest.

Ms Mosha also told reporters that further progress in the case depended on apprehending Vithlani, who is believed to have skipped the country.

Vithlani is seen as the main broker of the deal involving the alleged payment of $12m (approx. 15bn/-) illegal kickbacks to various officials to sanction the 2002 radar purchase by the Tanzanian Government.

However, a follow-up by THISDAY at the Kisutu court uncovered that no corruption charges have been filed against Vithlani or any other suspect in connection with the deal. Instead, Vithlani has been charged with the much lesser offence of perjury.


According to details of the charge sheet seen by THISDAY, none of the three counts of criminal indictments brought against Vithlani is directly related to corruption. He is only facing two counts of lying in court and one of lying to an investigating officer.

 

[Mbangaizaji]

Hii charge sheet kwa mtizamo wangu ni very poor framed.Na akiwa presented na lwayer mzuri kidogo tu anazipangua kama kumsukuma mlevi tu.Hata mimi ambaye sio mwanasheria hizo charges naweza kuzipagua kama ifuatavyo

1st Count:
Perjury on judiciary proceeding for the case which is not directly associated with the purchase of RADAR?

Maana perjury kwa simple definition ni "Perjury is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under oath or affirmation in a court of law or in any of various sworn statements in writing. Perjury is a crime because the witness has sworn to tell the truth and, for the credibility of the court, witness testimony must be relied on as being truthful. Perjury is considered a serious offense as it can be used to usurp the power of the courts, resulting in miscarriages of justice"
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perjury

Sasa prosecution si ni lazima waprove beyond reasonable doubt(maana burden of proof iko kwao) kuwa hiyo perjury iliyofanyika ilikuwa ina result into miscarriage of justice.
Pili uongo gani huo uliosemwa kuwa Envers Trading is owned by X and Y while yeye ndo anaown kwa sababu ni director?Mtu unaweza kuwa director wa kampuni lakini sio shareholder.Na owners wa kampuni ni shareholders sio director as he can be appointed.

2nd Count
Hapa prosecution wana kazi ya kuleta ushahidi wa nguvu kuconfirm kuwa alilipwa zaidi ya 1% maana, jamaa statement yake imekuwa consistent kwenye 2nd and 3rd count. Kwa maana hiyo yeye anaweza kuwa na ushahidi. ie bank statement ya hiyo 1% aliyolipwa kwenye personal a/c and the rest zikawa zimetumwa kwenye numbered account kule Switzerland.Mi navyojua hela ya rushwa huwa haina receipt hivyo hata BAE System kupprove itakuwa ngumu.

3rd Count
Kwanini bwana Kassim alifanya interrogation of such serious nature Hotelini Sea Cliff tena peke yake? Hapa ni his word against accused.Was it oficial interrogation au zilikuwa story za barazani tu? Accused akisema Kassim alikuwa ananifuatafuata siku nyingi nimpe rushwa na akaongea na mawaiter 4-5 wa sea cliff wakakubali kutestiy kuwa bwana Kassim kila mara alikuwa anakuja kumuona Vithlani hotelini na wanakuwa wakipiga story tu kwa masaa mengi. Reliability wa huyo witness si unakuwa umeshakuwa damaged?

 

[Mfwatiliaji]

Haya ni mambo ya ajabu sana yanafanywa na state organs, kama hiyo case ya wizi wa mabilioni ubalozi italy, wanakwenda mahakamani na kusema hakuna mlalamikaji kwenye case waliyofungua.Kwa kweli nimeshindwa kabisa kuamini kwamba mwakilishi wa nchi anaweza kutamka maneno kama hayo, ilinifanya kichwa kikauma, nikajisikia mbofumbofu!!.Labda wataalam wa sheria mnifafanulie na hilo hata kama ni hata kama mkiona kuna haja ya kuanzisha thread yake tuijadili kwa kina.

 

[Mzee Mwanakijiji]

Kuna Habari Kwamba Vithlani Alikua Dar Wiki Mbili Zilizopita, Kuna Jamaa Mmoja Wanayefahamiana Sana Wameonana

Halisi, I knew he was in Dar, a week before the story on pending prosecution broke out. Na PCCB walikuwa wanajua alipo kwani hayo mashtaka yalifunguliwa mapema kabla hajatoweka. Kwenye serious case kama hii inasikitisha hakukuwa na upepelezi.

 

[Nurujamii]

Naam bado tunaikumbuka. Mramba alisema,"Tutakula hata majani, lakini rada lazima inunuliwe." Na bado anapeta kama waziri. Hivi mabadiliko makubwa ya baraza la mawaziri yaliyotabiriwa na wajuzi wa mambo ya siasa bado yapo au yameshakuwa history!?

sio rada ni ndege ya raisi

 

[Halisi]

Jamani huyu ndiye mtuhumiwa wa radar,ambaye maelezo yake yamo humu..... wwww.thisday.co.tz

 

[Rwabugiri]

Jamani huyu ndiye mtuhumiwa wa radar,ambaye maelezo yake yamo humu..... wwww.thisday.co.tz

Jamaa linaonekana limeshiba kweli kweli mabilioni ya wabongo wanao kufa njaa! mwe inatia huruma sana!

Ila maelezo hayaonekani wataalamu wa ICT saidia.

 

[BAK]

More radar case details emerge: How Vithlani, Somaiya were interrogated under oath in a local court

BOSOM BUDDIES: Tanil Somaiya (right), who grew up as a close friend of Shailesh Vithlani (left) in Mwanza Region and later joined him in business, was also questioned by detectives last year under oath before a magistrate of the Kisutu Resident Magistrate`s Court in Dar es Salaam, in connection with the 70bn/- radar deal. While Somaiya appears to have escaped legal action so far, lead suspect Vithlani remains a wanted man with an international arrest warrant hanging over his head.
THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam

BRITISH investigators last year subjected both lead suspect Shailesh Vithlani and his close business associate Tanil Somaiya to rigorous questioning in a Tanzanian court over their alleged involvement in the controversial 28 million pounds sterling (approx. 70bn/-) military radar transaction scandal, it has been established.

Latest findings from THISDAY’s ongoing investigations reveal that both Vithlani and Somaiya, understood to be close friends from childhood days, were obliged to answer questions from two British detectives while under oath at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam.

Official court documents show that the courtroom grilling of the duo was conducted by assistant detective sergeant Steve Rosenthal of Britain’s Ministry of Defence Police and another sleuth from the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Carl Brown.

The SFO has been investigating the British defence manufacturer company BAE Systems over corruption allegations in relation to the 2002 sale of an over-priced air traffic control and military radar system to the Tanzanian Government, as well as separate but similar contracts with other countries.

Vithlani and Somaiya, both in their early 40s, are reported to have grown up together in Mwanza and were business partners for many years, including 2002 when the radar deal was finalised.

They were questioned by detectives as part of investigations conducted simultaneously in Tanzania and Britain over allegations of illegal kickback payments amounting to some $12m (approx. 15bn/-) to high-profile figures in the government of former president Benjamin Mkapa, in order to get the transaction approved.

But while Vithlani has already been charged before the Kisutu court with three counts of lying to the court and to an investigating officer over details of the deal, Somaiya has so far escaped any legal action against him.

Somaiya, who owns the Shivacom group of companies in the country, is understood to have informed the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) that he ceased being Vithlani’s business partner since January this year.

He has also insisted to investigating authorities that he had no knowledge of the radar transaction, although records show he was still Vithlani’s business partner at the time the deal was concluded in 2002.

Official documents seen by THISDAY show that Vithlani and Somaiya were questioned under oath before Kisutu Resident Magistrate Katarina Revocati on two separate occasions - July 25 and July 28, 2006.

They were interrogated about their alleged links to the radar transaction under section 11 of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act number 24 of 1991, whereby their statements can be used as acceptable evidence in both Tanzanian and British courts.

On the basis of these sworn statements, Vithlani � who is believed to have since gone on the run out of the country - was on November 1 this year charged in absentia with two counts of outright perjury and one count of lying to an investigating officer, in case number 1474 of 2007.

It is alleged that during the questioning under oath, Vithlani lied that he was not the owner of a company known as Envers Trading Corporation, which has been linked to the radar deal.

’’I do not have any involvement with Envers Trading. I was only given power of attorney. I am not aware of where Envers Trading is located,’’ Vithlani is reported to have replied during questioning under oath at the Kisutu court upon the request of the British detectives.

Prosecutors allege that Vithlani was paid $12,391,459.50 (approx. 15bn/-), equivalent to 31 per cent of the radar purchase price, as consultancy fee based on a contract entered between Red Diamond Trading Corporation and Envers Trading Corp.

The Kisutu court has already issued an international arrest warrant against Vithlani, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

 

[BAK]

Radar case: The interrogation

Outside view of the Millennium Towers Hotel situated at Makumbusho along New Bagamoyo Road in Dar es Salaam.
-Vithlani, Somaiya both admitted ’power of attorney’ ties to key company

THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam

THE lead suspect in the 28 million pounds sterling (approx. 70bn/-) military radar transaction scandal, Shailesh Vithlani, and close business associate Tanil Somaiya both formally admitted to British detectives that they at one time or another had legal authority to represent the company believed to have been illegally paid $12m (approx. 15bn/-) to facilitate the controversial deal.

Judicial records show that the duo last year testified under oath at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam, that they had power of attorney - a legal instrument used to delegate legal authority to them - to act on behalf of Envers Trading Corporation.

Investigators allege that Envers Trading Corp. was paid $12m by Red Diamond Trading, another shadowy company set up in the British Virgin Islands in 1998 by a firm linked to Britain’s BAE Systems, manufacturers of the overpriced air traffic control system sold to former President Benjamin Mkapa’s government in 2002.

It has been further alleged that Red Diamond Trading took advantage of the loose tax laws in the tiny Caribbean island enclave, where such companies are allowed to keep details of their bank accounts and identities of both their directors and owners concealed.

When subjected to questioning by British detectives, Somaiya - who owns the Shivacom group of companies in Dar es Salaam - admitted that he was given power of attorney over Envers Trading Corp. for a period of 11 months.

But he insisted that he had no other involvement with the company, and was not even aware of the company’s official location.

Official documents from the Kisutu resident magistrate’s court in Dar es Salaam show that the courtroom grilling of both Vithlani and Somaiya was conducted in July last year by assistant detective sergeant Steve Rosenthal of Britain’s Ministry of Defence Police and another investigator from the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Carl Brown.

The two were interrogated under oath before Kisutu Resident Magistrate Katarina Revocati on two separate occasions - July 25 and July 28, 2006.

At the time of the interrogation, Somaiya admitted he was a co-owner of the city-based Merlin International company with Vithlani, whom he described as his ’’very good friend.’’

’’Shailesh Vithlani is a very good friend of mine. He is also a director of Merlin International. I don’t know if he is the owner of Envers Trading�I transferred to him the power of attorney. I don’t know whether he is the owner,’’ the court documents quote Somaiya as saying during questioning.

Somaiya also denied any knowledge of Red Diamond Trading, but admitted being familiar with the name of Chris Naqvi, another businessman said to have apparently been interested in developing real estate.

When Somaiya was shown in court a power of attorney document dated November 3, 1998, he said: ’’I can’t recall, but none of the signatures in this paper is mine. I confirm that I had a power of attorney for 11 months.’’

On his part, Vithlani told the court in his sworn testimony that he was running Merlin International as a consultancy firm with ’’other owners�one is Tanil Somaiya.’’

He also identified the name of Chris Naqvi as belonging to BAE Systems’’ regional manager for Africa, and stated his own relationship with the British company as being that of ’’their adviser.’’

Regarding the radar transaction, Vithlani testified that: �I provided local services, I was paid one per cent, which was $390,000 (approx. 500m/-).�

He said the payment was made by bank transfer from BAE Systems (also known as British Aerospace) through Citibank.

Acknowledging that he also held power of attorney with Envers Trading Corp., Vithlani said the company was owned by Pablo Espino and Adeline Estriby - although he had never met either of them - and that the company paid him an annual fee of $20,000.

’’I knew they were directors because of the power of attorney. They are the ones who signed the document,’’ said Vithlani, who also described himself as an ’adviser’ of Red Diamond Trading in the air traffic control system business, and did not know the owner.

’’I don’t know much about Red Diamond Trading, (but) they used to pay me,’’ said Vithlani.

Vithlani has since been charged at the Kisutu court with committing perjury and making false statements to an investigating officer, with prosecutors alleging that he lied about not being the owner of Envers Trading and about receiving a $390,000 commission for the radar deal while he was actually paid $12m.

He was charged in absentia as he is believed to have skipped the country, and an international arrest warrant issued for him.

Somaiya, according to THISDAY findings, has meanwhile informed the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) through his lawyers that he ceased being a shareholder and director of Merlin International on January 8 of this year.

 

[BAK]

More revelations in radar deal saga: The secret BAE money machine

-Details of elaborate but clandestine bank account system used to effect payments both overt and covert

THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam

A MYSTERIOUS offshore company linked to Tanzania’s festering radar transaction scandal, Red Diamond Trading Limited, was used to channel secret payments all over the world to sweeten multi-million dollar contracts for the renowned British defence manufacturer company BAE Systems, it has been verified.

Tanzanian and British investigators have established that Red Diamond, which was registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), made illegal payments of $12m (approx. 15bn/-) to Envers Trading Corporation, now understood to have been the company that brokered the 28 million pounds sterling (approx. 70bn/-) radar deal in 2002.

The transaction is being investigated simultaneously by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office and the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) over allegations of illegal kickback payments amounting to the same $12m to government officials in order to get it approved.

According to official records from the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission, Red Diamond was registered on February 24, 1998, under company number IBC No. 269342, and incorporated with a share capital of $50,000 with its registered agent identified as ATU General Trust (BVI) Limited.

The company’s owners are not listed, but its registered office address cited as 65 Main Street, P.O.Box 3463, Road Town, Tortola, BVI.

It has now emerged that BAE Systems allegedly used Red Diamond to channel payments to recipients around the world, via bank accounts registered in the name of the company in London, Switzerland and New York.

The latest revelations suggest that the British defence manufacturer firm used a secret payments system and channelled illegal commissions to agents through the BVI offshore company.

Financial sector experts have described the British Virgin Islands as a financial ’black hole’ in the Caribbean, where beneficial ownership of a company can be hidden.

In criminal charges stemming from the radar deal against lead suspect Shailesh Vithlani, filed on November 1 this year at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam, the name of the Red Diamond Trading company has cropped up prominently in the charge sheet.

According to Tanzanian prosecutors, the BVI company paid Envers Trading Corp. - an obscure company now directly linked to Vithlani - a total of $12,391,459.50 (approx. 15bn/-), equivalent to 31 per cent of the radar purchase price, as consultancy fee.

BAE Systems on its part has never disclosed the existence of the Red Diamond company in its published company accounts, and is yet to explain why it was set up.

Investigators say an elaborate banking system was organised under which cash from BAE Systems was automatically funnelled through Red Diamond accounts and on to its final destination(s).

The Tanzanian radar deal has been roundly criticised on the international front, with various keen observers asserting that the technology purchased was both outdated and too expensive for one of the poorest countries in the world.

The World Bank is amongst those that objected to the sale of the air traffic control and military radar system to the government of ex-president Benjamin Mkapa, which came at a time when Tanzania had just been granted a debt relief package of $2bn (approx. 2.6trn/-).

However, despite all the investigative efforts by both the PCCB and Britain’s SFO, neither of the two law enforcement agencies has so far actually filed any criminal charges against those identified as suspects in the deal.

Paradoxically, lead suspect Vithlani has been charged with mere ’perjury’ rather than outright corruption, and the prosecution is being handled by the attorney general’s chambers instead of the state-run anti-corruption watchdog itself.

 

[Semanao]

Akiojiwa na gazeti la mwananchi, haya ndo maneno ya aliyekuwa mwanasheria mkuu baada ya iliyokuwa ofisi yake kuambiwa inashauri vibaya serikali.

Hata Hivyo, Waziri wa Miundombinu, Andrew Chenge alisema kuwa Kamati hiyo imechukua vitu kwa ujumla katika masuala ya sheria na kwamba imeshindwa kusema ni kifungu gani kinamakosa na wangefanya nini ili kunusuru hali hiyo.

�Kamati imefanya majumuhisho tu uwezo wa vijana waliopo katika ofisi ya Mwanasheria Mkuu katika masuala ya sheria ni mkubwa, watu watashangaa kusikia Kamati hiyo imekisema kuwa Mwanasheria Mkuu alishindwa kutoa ushauri mzuri,"alisisitiza Chenge.

 

[mwanatanu]

Kamati imefanya majumuhisho tu uwezo wa vijana waliopo katika ofisi ya Mwanasheria Mkuu katika masuala ya sheria ni mkubwa, watu watashangaa kusikia Kamati hiyo imekisema kuwa Mwanasheria Mkuu alishindwa kutoa ushauri mzuri,"alisisitiza Chenge

Hayooooo mambo yanaiva kila mfisadi sasa antafuta kinga...ushauri wangu kwa Chenge subiri tume ya kuangalia contract za madini...

 

[Mulugwanza]

Huyu chenge tumpige mawe!

 

[Kindingo]

Nashangaa hawa jamaa badala ya kuachia ngazi wanakaza nyuso kama Gumegume !!

 

[Shukurani]

Fisadi hyuoooooooooooooooo,mwisho wao umefika. Moto umewaka

 

[G.MWAKASEGE]

Mfa maji haachi kutapatapa!

 

[Semanao]

Kwanza alitaka kuizima lakini akakwama. FISADI Mkubwaaaaaaa

Chenge akwama kuzima hoja ya Richmond


na Mwandishi Wetu



WAZIRI wa Miundombinu, Andrew Chenge, jana alijaribu bila mafanikio kuzima hoja ya kuwasilishwa kwa taarifa ya kamati teule ya Bunge iliyochunguza mchakato wa zabuni ya kuzalisha umeme wa dharura ulioipa ushindi Richmond Development Company LLC ya Houston, Texas, Marekani mwaka 2006.
Orodha ya shughuli za Bunge kwa kikao cha saba jana, ilionyesha kuwa kabla ya kipindi cha maswali na majibu, kamati hiyo iliyokuwa chini ya uenyekiti wa Mbunge wa Kyela, Dk. Harrison Mwakyembe (CCM), itawasilisha taarifa yake.

Baada ya dua, taarifa ya kuwasilisha ripoti hiyo ilisomwa na Makamu Mwenyekiti wa kamati hiyo, Mbunge wa Viti Maalumu, Stela Manyanya (CCM).

Lakini, baada ya kipindi cha maswali na majibu, baada ya Spika kumuomba Katibu alieleze Bunge shughuli inayofuata, huku ratiba ikionyesha kuwa huo ulikuwa ni wakati wa kuwasilishwa kwa ripoti kamili ya Richmond, Chenge alisimama akitaka mwongozo wa Spika.

Alipopewa nafasi, Chenge alisema wakati wa kikao cha kupewa maelezo ya shughuli za mkutano wa 10 wa Bunge kilichofanyika Januari 28 mwaka huu, wabunge walielezwa kuwa kulikuwa na miswada sita ya serikali itakayowasilishwa.

Akitumia kifungu cha 30(4) cha Kanuni za Bunge, Chenge alisema kuwa kwa kawaida shughuli za serikali hupewa kipaumbele katika mkutano wowote wa Bunge.

Chenge alisema kuwa kama yalikuwepo mashauriano baina ya Ofisi ya Spika na Serikali, hakuwa na taarifa kuwa miswada ya serikali ilikuwa imemalizika kujadiliwa na hivyo kushangaa kwa nini inaletwa ripoti ya kamati kabla miswada ya serikali haijajadiliwa yote.

Lakini akijibu hoja hiyo, Spika, Samuel Sitta, alisema kwa mujibu wa kifungu cha 34 cha kanuni hizo hizo, utaratibu wa shughuli za Bunge unaongozwa na maamuzi ya Kamati ya Uongozi ya Bunge.

Alisema katika kikao cha kamati hiyo, ambacho Waziri wa Nchi, Ofisi ya Waziri Mkuu (Bunge), alishiriki kikamilifu, kiliamua kuwa hoja hiyo iletwe bungeni, hasa kwa kuzingatia mazingira yaliyotokana na mjadala katika semina ya wabunge iliyofanyika Jumapili iliyopita.

Awali, Spika alisema mjadala wa semina hiyo, ambao kupitia kwayo wabunge walikataa kuwasilishwa kwa miswada miwili kuhusu nishati, ni moja ya sababu kadhaa zilizomfanya asitishe safari yake ya nchini Marekani.

Alisema katika semina hiyo wabunge walionyesha kuwa suala la ripoti ya Richmond lilikuwa muhimu mno kiasi kwamba ilimlazimu yeye kuahirishaa safari hiyo, ili kuhakikisha kuwa suala hilo linafikishwa bungeni haraka iwezekanavyo.

Alisema kwa kuwa alikataza masuala hayo kujadiliwa wakati hayupo, hakuona sababu ya kuendelea na safari, wakati dalili zote zikionyesha kuwa suala hilo linapaswa kujadiliwa haraka.

"Spika ambaye anakimbia wakati huku nyuma nyumba inaungua, hafai," alisema na kubainisha kuwa kukataza kwake masuala hayo kujadiliwa wakati hayupo ilikuwa ni aina ya kuonyesha uwajibikaji wake yeye kama Spika.

Alisema Spika ndiye anayewajibika kwa masuala yote yanayolihusu Bunge, hivyo isingekuwa busara kumwachia Naibu wake, Anne Makinda, kusimamia mijadala ya masuala nyeti kama hayo.

Hata hivyo, Sitta aliomba radhi kwa lugha aliyoitumia wakati akitangaza suala hilo wiki iliyopita, ambayo kwa kiasi fulani ilionyesha dharau kwa naibu Spika.

Baada ya Dk. Makyembe kuwasilisha taarifa hiyo, Spika aliliahirisha Bunge hadi leo, ili kuwapa nafasi wabunge kuisoma taarifa hiyo yenye zaidi ya kurasa 160 pamoja na vielelezo vingine kadhaa, kabla hawajaanza kuijadili leo baada ya kipindi cha maswali na majibu.

Kwa kuonyesha kuwa hataki kuwabana wabunge katika kuijadili hoja hiyo, Spika alisema anatoa siku mbili, leo na kesho kwa wabunge kuijadili hoja hiyo.

Mara baada ya kuahirisha Bunge, mawaziri kadhaa, wakiongozwa na Waziri Mkuu, Edward Lowassa, walionekana wakiwa katika majadiliano mazito ndani ya Bunge, huku wabunge wengine wakitoka nje.

Hata hivyo, chanzo cha habari kililieleza gazeti hili kuwa Karamagi ameshaandika barua ya kujiuzulu, lakini alikuwa bado hajaiwasilisha sehemu husika.

Akizungumza na gazeti hili nje ya Ukumbi wa Bunge, Waziri Mkuu mstaafu na Mbunge wa Mtera, John Malecela, alisema ameipokea ripoti hiyo kwa furaha.

Alisema ripoti hiyo inaeleza mambo mengi ambayo pamoja na masuala mengine, yanatoa nafasi kwa Watanzania kujirekebisha na kutafuta njia muafaka ya kwenda.

"Kama alivyowahi kusema Baba wa Taifa, hayati Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, huu ni wakati, si kwa serikali ya CCM tu, bali kwa Watanzania wote, kujirekebisha," alisema Malecela ambaye pia alikuwa makamu mwenyekiti wa CCM kwa muda mrefu.

Dalili kuwa jana ilikuwa siku ya kihistoria kwa Bunge la Tanzania, kwa mara ya kwanza msafara wa Spika na makatibu wake kuingia bungeni asubuhi, uliongozwa na mpambe mwanamke.

 

[Binti Haki]

Kwa kweli huhu Chenge ni kituko. Ni aibu sana kwa mtu mzima kama yeye ku behave hivi. What happens to human beings like these ambao wanakosa aibu kabisa katika jamii?Hawana nafsi zinazosuta watu wa kawaida. Shame on you Chenge. Go please.. go.