PM purges corrupt Muheza council staff
TANGA: PRIME Minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba has ordered the immediate removal of all Muheza District Council officials in Tanga Region implicated in the misappropriation of funds for a new office building project.
Dr Nchemba issued the directive on Tuesday during a wrap-up meeting of his five-day working tour of the Tanga Region, held at the Institute of Judicial Administration (IJA) in Lushoto.
Addressing the Minister of State in the President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG’s), Riziki Shemdoe, the PM demanded swift disciplinary action.
“Muheza is the district that disappointed me the most,” Dr Nchemba said. “It is no secret that elsewhere there were shortcomings. What happened in Muheza is outright destruction,” said the premier directing PO-RALG minister, Shemdoe, return to Muheza tomorrow and work with the Minister for Public Service and take the necessary measures.
The Prime Minister said some materials were paid for but never delivered to the project site. He cited steel reinforcement bars worth 9.2m/- that were paid to a Tanga-based supplier but were not delivered.
“That means they were diverted,” he said.
According to him, 192 marine boards valued at 7.8m/- also did not reach the site, naming the accountant, project engineer and receiving officer among those responsible for the irregularities. Dr Nchemba further said that 4.4m/- was paid for 3,800 bags of cement, but 300 bags were not delivered to the construction site.
He ordered that the procurement officer, the human resources officer who chaired the project’s materials receiving committee and the director of the supplying company be traced and questioned. The Premier also pointed to serious violations of government procedures, including payments made without contracts.
“There is a firm that was paid 98.7m/- without any contract. What was this payment for? A supervising consultant was also paid 11.9m/- without a contract,” he said.
He said that, in addition, 343m/- was spent outside the project on allowances.
“Minister Shemdoe, go and clean up that office. Let the district start afresh. Consult the Minister for Public Service so that each responsible officer gets the punishment they deserve,” he insisted.
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On the broader regional performance, the Prime Minister directed leaders to resolve issues raised by citizens across all districts and councils he visited. He urged District Commissioners to conduct ward visits and listen to wananchi’s concerns.
“They want government answers and solutions to their challenges,” he said.
Earlier, Tanga Regional Commissioner Batilda Burian thanked the Prime Minister for visiting all seven districts, 11 councils and 12 constituencies in the region, where he inspected and launched development projects worth 751bn/-.
“Your tour has been a practical lesson that gives us a new approach to serving citizens. We will work on your directive not to normalise people’s problems, but to listen and find solutions,” she said.
