PCCB interventions boost revenue growth in LGAs

DAR ES SALAAM: GOVERNMENT revenue collections in 40 local authorities have increased from 97.8bn/- to 106.4bn/- annually, following anti-corruption interventions by the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) during the 2024/25 financial year.

The 8.6bn/- increase was achieved after sealing corruption loopholes through system reforms, PCCB Director General, Mr Crispin Francis Chalamila, said yesterday while presenting the bureau’s performance report to President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

The gains follow development of 3,470 anti-corruption strategies through system analysis, of which, 2,994 (86 per cent) have been implemented, significantly strengthening financial accountability.

“Following system analysis, PCCB conducted 671 stakeholder meetings and developed 3,470 strategies to seal corruption loopholes. Out of these, 2,994 have been implemented, while 476 are still under implementation,” Mr Chalamila said.

He noted that the bureau’s interventions focused on prevention, public education, investigation and prosecution. Priority areas in 2024/25 included revenue collection, electoral processes, and service delivery in key sectors such as health, water, education, land and construction.

Improved oversight also led to the recovery and proper remittance of withholding taxes that had not been deducted or fully submitted to the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA).

“In Iringa Municipal and District Councils, projects worth 18.3bn/- required withholding tax of 982.7m/- which was not deducted. In Meatu District Council, 13.1m/- was also not deducted from projects worth 483.6m/-,” he said.

He added that in Mkuranga District Council, withholding tax amounting to 119.1m/- was expected from projects worth 5.5bn/-, but only 103.7m/- was remitted, leaving a shortfall of 15.4m/-.

“After PCCB intervention, all outstanding withholding taxes were collected and submitted to TRA,” he said.

The report also shows that the use of electronic revenue collection systems doubled collections in Rombo District Council from 2.2bn/- in 2023/24 to 4.4bn/- in 2024/25.

On expenditure tracking, PCCB monitored 1,864 development projects worth 14.3tri/- in 2024/25, up from 1,773 projects valued at 11.4tri/- in the previous year. Of these, 913 projects had deficiencies, prompting investigations in 66 cases, down from 92 cases in 2023/24.

Mr Chalamila warned that weak contract management continues to cause losses through payments for unexecuted works, failure to deduct taxes, substandard work and non-compliance with procurement laws.

“These shortcomings continue to recur, and accounting officers must strengthen supervision to avoid repeated irregularities,” he said. He also said that PCCB recovered 14.5bn/- between July 2024 and June 2025, including 10.1bn/- in cash and 4.4bn/- in assets.

An additional 101.8bn/- was recovered between July 2025 and February 2026 through ongoing investigations. The bureau completed investigations into 1,030 cases in 2024/25, up from 728 cases in 2023/24, including 22 grand corruption cases worth 210.5bn/-.

Among the major cases was a cybercrime scheme involving cloned bank cards, where 147.5bn/- was fraudulently withdrawn using 1,551 cards across 11 countries through 162 companies and five local banks.

“Our investigation established that the fraudulent transactions were used to pay for services such as tourism and transport, while some suspects engaged in money laundering, causing losses of 2.6bn/- to banks,” he said, adding that 678m/- had been recovered by June 2025.

In another case, PCCB investigated the embezzlement of 19.1bn/- from NMB Bank in Shinyanga Region, involving 42 borrowers, a collateral manager and bank officials, with 4.2bn/- already recovered.

On prosecutions, PCCB handled 1,016 cases, including 755 new ones and concluded 593. Of these, 483 were successful, giving a conviction rate of 81.5 per cent, up from 76 per cent in 2023/24.

Public awareness on corruption also increased from 77.5 per cent in 2020 to 84.6 per cent in 2024, driven by extensive education campaigns, including 4,760 seminars, 4,143 public meetings, and 544 exhibitions conducted nationwide.

Mr Chalamila said PCCB will continue to intensify the use of technology, strengthen oversight of public funds, and continue tackling corruption in key service sectors.