CAG: Covid-19 credit facility use satisfactory

CONTROLLER and Auditor General report on implementation of the Covid-19 Socioeconomic Response and Recovery Plan (TCRP) of 1.3tri/- International Monetary Fund credit facility indicated execution of specified projects was highly satisfactory.

However, the CAG cited some challenges and offered recommendations in the 169-page document as valuable lessons for the future.

The Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Mr Charles Kichere disclosed this while presenting his office’s audit reports for the financial year 2021/2022 before President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the State House in Dar es Salaam, yesterday.

According to him, in 2021 President Samia launched a plan of boosting the country’s economy through IMF concessional loan in dealing with the adverse impacts of Covid-19 on sectors such as health, education, water, tourism and social protection.

“The projects under the TCRP were implemented as planned and the funds were used to revamp various sectors, including health, education, water supply, financial support, tourism and infrastructure.

“The achievements of these projects were largely due to the effective coordination of the Ministry of Finance and Planning, who issued guidelines and directives and monitored and evaluated the progress of the projects regularly,” stated Mr Kichere in the report.

However he outlined various areas which require improvements including the value added tax (VAT) paid for the supply of goods and services on exempted projects.

He said Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI) paid Anudha Limited to supply and install emergency medical equipment for several hospitals. The invoice submitted by the supplier had no VAT, but payments made included 333m/- as VAT.

Based on this, he recommended that management of ORCI to ensure the supplier refunded the 333m/- wrongly paid as VAT.

Another area relates to the Ministry of Health paid 18.85bn/- to Toyota Tanzania and UNICEF for procuring motor vehicles, but as of November 2022, the vehicles had not yet been delivered, recommending that the ministry’s management to closely follow up with suppliers to ensure the delivery of motor vehicles, among others.

Besides the Covid-19 audit, the CAG carried out other special audits where he discovered several faults indicating erroneous deposit of 6.1bn/- to a plea-bargaining account instead of a special recovery account.

He said also other faults included handing over of 1.3bn/- hard cash to the Treasurer without going through the special recovery account and lack of a cash book to record confiscated assets as well as failure to issue receipt of the funds as identification.

“Faults in the management of confiscated assets have led to wearing out and risking their security due to the failure of keeping its records in the book of the prosecution’s office,” he noted.

Likewise, the CAG discovered faults due to lack of transparency in the handing over process of asset between the office of the Director of Prosecution and the people who were facing serious economic crimes.

Mr Kichere also revealed an audit report involving embezzlement at Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) following a tip off from social media.

He said the auditing process had incurred some challenges including obtaining various documents but after solicitation the exhibits were availed to them.

“The audit discovered that 1.95bn/- conducted through 40 invoices that did not show authenticity and legality due to lack of genuine documentation.

“A sum of 1.34bn/- was indicated to have been received by various officials through signed invoices, whereby 611m/- whereabouts could not be established if the intended official received the money,” stated the CAG.

Also, a total of 38.72m/- was highly paid as allowances contrary to the stipulated guidelines and 114m/- was double paid to officials for carrying out the same task of preparing financial reports.

He recommended that the management of TANAPA to ensure the money was recovered as well as ensuring control of payment as per the stipulated rates.

President Samia commenting on development and Covid-19 funds expenditures by councils said the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) was dealing with all individuals implicated in mismanagement of funds.

“The parties are obliged to pay the money or be accountable. If you took the funds today, tomorrow you will pay the money after legal action,” stressed President Samia.

She was angered with the way the public service commission was handling the issue of mismanagement of public funds.

The President said it clearly indicated there was poor supervision due to the fact that the past two year’s reports had indicated the same thing and yet the same people still hold the positions despite the huge loss.

“If public services procedures do not give room for suspending the individuals, then transfer them elsewhere with no funds.”

We cannot tolerate receiving three different reports but the same person continues holding the position,” directed the President.