Mwanza orders probe into alleged loan bribery

MWANZA: MWANZA City Mayor Sima Constantine Sima has directed the City Council Director, Mr Kiomoni Kibamba, to form a special team to investigate allegations that some community development officers demanded bribes from youth seeking council loans.

Mr Sima, who doubles as chairman of the Tanzania Local Administration Association (ALAT), issued the directive yesterday after inspecting the implementation of a 2.6bn/- loan programme benefiting 25 fish-farming groups in Luchelele Ward.

He said the investigation would establish the truth behind complaints from some beneficiaries who allegedly had to pay up to 1m/- to access the loans.

Mr Sima said the council had already begun following up on the allegations and had documents implicating some individuals in the alleged solicitation of bribes.

“We are aware of the people involved and have documents concerning those who have been taking bribes in this area. The Director has started taking action, but we continue to insist that beneficiaries should be truthful and provide information about these people,” he said.

He urged beneficiaries not to fear reporting officials or other individuals suspected of engaging in corruption, saying such information would enable the council to take appropriate action.

Mr Sima said the loans were intended to empower citizens economically and that it was unacceptable for anyone to exploit their position by demanding money from beneficiaries seeking services they were entitled to receive.

He said the council would continue monitoring the project and loan repayments to ensure the funds benefit more citizens through subsequent groups.

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Meanwhile, Mwanza City Council Acting Head of the Community Development Department, Mr Abeli Mosha, said the loan repayment rate remained low because the project was still at an early stage.

He said some groups had not yet reached the production stage that would enable them to generate sufficient income to begin repaying the loans at the expected rate.

Mr Mosha said the council was continuing to monitor beneficiary groups, identify challenges and provide technical advice on cage fish farming.

He said the success of the programme would not be measured only by the amount of money disbursed, but also by the groups’ ability to produce, generate profits and repay the loans on time, enabling other citizens to benefit.

Chairman of the Mwanza City Council Cage Fish Farmers’ Union, Mr Ndongo Makina, acknowledged that some groups had been slow in repaying the loans.

He attributed the situation partly to lower-than-expected fish harvests, saying some groups were facing production challenges that had reduced their income.

Mr Makina called for continued training and professional advice on cage fish farming to increase production and enable beneficiaries to generate sufficient income to repay the loans as agreed.