KIGOMA SOUTH MP, DAVID KAFULILA RAISES FRESH WORRIES ON IPTL SAGA

Kigoma South MP, David Kafulila.

Dar es Salaam. Kigoma South MP David Kafulila (NCCR-Mageuzi) wants Controller and Auditor General (CAG) Ludovick Utouh to hand over to Parliament the probe report on the Sh201 billion ($122 million) IPTL escrow account scandal before he retires.

Mr Kafulila, who blew the whistle in Parliament on the controversial withdrawal of billions of shillings from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) to facilitate the questionable IPTL sale to Pan African Power Solutions Ltd (PAP), told a press conference in Dar es Salaam that he feared the outcome of a two-pronged investigation into the scandal could be compromised.

The opposition MP said the timing of Mr Utouh’s exit on Friday before he publicly releases his investigation findings could signal behind-the-scenes manoeuvres to compromise the outcome of the probe.

Mr Utouh is leaving after two full constitutional terms as CAG. It remains unclear when his findings on the scandal, which the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) ordered in March, will land in the August House. Parliament resumes sittings in October at the conclusion of the Constituent Assembly.

Mr Utouh confirmed that he would not be in a position to complete the probe before his scheduled retirement but gave an assurance that the investigation was virtually complete. “We have carried out the job to a satisfactory level,” he added, in an exclusive interview with The Citizen. “Unfortunately, I will have to hand over the remaining bit to my successor, who will complete the assignment.”

The CAG said the investigation took a lot of time and involved a lot of research and interviews with people who had the relevant information in order to get to the truth. “That is why I have to let the incoming CAG carry on with what’s left,” said Mr Utouh. But Mr Kafulila argued that “powerful forces” implicated in the affair could be conniving to defeat justice and hide the truth about the people behind the scandal.

The manner in which the state wants to handle the matter suggests that there is more to the matter than meets the eye. Mr Utoh promised to be done with the investigation in 40 days back in March. More than 160 days later, the office has yet to hand over the report to parliament.

“The CAG is running away from his duties and that is unacceptable,” said Mr Kafulila. “Yes, the office remains behind on his retirement but the change of guard at this time might be used as an excuse to water down the investigation report.”

According to the NCCR-Mageuzi MP, the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) had already completed its own investigation on the matter and handed the report to the government. Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda told Parliament in March that the state had asked PCCB to intervene in the elements of crime raised by the IPTL scandal.

“This was a Parliamentary ordered investigation, why would PCCB now purport to report their findings to the government ahead of the CAG’s report?” asked Mr Kafulila. The MP wants the two reports brought before the MPs to prove that there were no fishy goings-on.

PCCB Director General Edward Hosea declined to comment on the development. “I am professional,” he told The Citizen. “I know my duties, therefore I cannot comment now.”

All MPs and Tanzanians, regardless of their political affiliation, should unite and demand accountability from the government over the scandal, Mr Kafulila added. “All those implicated in the embezzlement or payments of public funds in this scandal, whether ministers or powerful state officials, must be brought to book.” The MP further claimed the government continued to pay PAP some Sh4 billion every month in capacity charges for supplying electricity to Tanesco, contrary to best practice during such an investigation. The Citizen could not independently verify this claim from Tanesco or the ministy of energy at the time we went to press. “This new payment should not have happened until after the investigation is done, and if PAP is cleared then they receive their payments,” Mr Kafulila said.

In July, the main opposition party, Chadema, asked the government to get an external auditor to probe the matter. The party said it had no confidence in the capacity of the offices of the CAG and PCCB to investigate the scandal.

The Citizen