Chenge on spot over `pocket change` jibe
Andrew Chenge
-Minister accused of arrogance, pomposity, insensitivity
THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam
VARIOUS opposition legislators and political commentators yesterday slammed the beleaguered cabinet minister Andrew Chenge for his latest controversial remarks describing the more than $1m found in his offshore bank accounts in Britain as mere pocket change, as calls continued to mount for his resignation over suspected corruption.
That amounts to sheer arrogance...we are not complaining about pocket change, we are talking about millions of dollars found in his (Chenge�s) personal bank accounts, said the Karatu Member of Parliament, Dr Wilbrod Slaa (CHADEMA).
Dr Slaa noted that with about half the population living in conditions of abject poverty, it is an insult to Tanzanians as a whole for the current Minister of Infrastructure Development and former Attorney General to make such pompous and patronising statements.
Those kind of statements can only go to show how enormously rich he must really be, said the firebrand opposition MP.
Dr Slaa reiterated calls for Chenges resignation to pave way for ongoing investigations by the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) and Britains Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which suspect him of receiving unspecified amounts in illegal kickbacks from the dubious 28 billion pounds sterling (approx. 70bn/-) radar deal of 2002.
But the CHADEMA secretary general also noted: It is a pity that the culture of stepping down whenever such serious allegations of corruption arise is badly missing from our politics here in Tanzania, he said.
A leading local political analyst and University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) lecturer, Dr Azaveli Lwaitama, also added his voice to the growing public chorus for Chenge to step down.
I would really advise him to resign, if only to save the entire government and President Jakaya Kikwete from embarrassment, Dr Lwaitama told THISDAY in an interview.
The mere fact that such a senior minister is being investigated by international fraud detectives should be enough cause for him to resign, he added.
He reiterated that even if Chenge is indeed innocent of the corruption allegations, he should still step down to allow the investigations to proceed and run its course.
The UDSM don gave the example of former president Ali Hassan Mwinyi, who retired as a minister in Mwalimu Julius Nyereres government on the basis of collective responsibility, and urged modern-day politicians to follow suit.
On his part, the Leader of the Official Opposition in the National Assembly, Hamad Rashid Mohamed (Wawi-CUF), also heavily criticized Chenge for the pocket-change remarks.
He described such comments as an open affront to Tanzanians, while also voicing doubts regarding how the minister was able to stash over $1m away in offshore bank accounts, given his official income as a public servant.
Hamad Rashid urged the Public Leaders Ethics Secretariat to investigate and verify the actual amount of money deposited in Chenges offshore bank accounts.
The opposition leader also called for a thorough investigation into the matter by the PCCB, cautioning the governments anti-graft watchdog not to dismiss such a serious matter out of hand.
According to our sources, Chenge earns a monthly salary of around 3m/- as a cabinet minister and another 1.2m/- as a member of parliament, plus allowances.
Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Christopher Mtikila, also described the allegations against Chenge as being very serious, and demanded his resignation.
Come to think of it, Im not at all surprised that this minister has the gall to describe more than $1m found in his bank accounts as simply pocket change...he has a lot more money than that, said Mtikila.
In general, most members of the public interviewed by THISDAY in a random survey yesterday also said they were quite astonished by Chenges pocket-change remarks.
They noted that the more than $1m (approx. 1.2bn/-) in the ministers accounts would be enough to build more than 240 classrooms in Tanzania.
Chenge was widely quoted as making the pocket change remarks when speaking to journalists at the Mwalimu Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, on arrival from China where he had been part of President Kikwetes visiting delegation.
He also said he had no intention of resigning over the suspected radar corruption scandal, and confidently expressed belief that he will be vindicated by the ongoing investigations.