DONORS TO RELEASE SH80 BILLION OF BUDGET SUPPORT

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s Development Partners have agreed to release a further $44 million (about Sh80 billion) through the General Budget Support (GBS) after they were satisfied by measures taken over the Tegeta escrow account scam.

According to a joint press statement, the government and Budget Support Development Partners (BSDPs) held a successful dialogue meeting on Wednesday with the view of resuming budget support arrangements before the end of the current fiscal year.

The statement elaborated that the Development Partners are envisaging further disbursement decisions following their respective procedures; or in case of multilateral institutions preparing proposals to their respective boards of directors.

During the meeting, according to the statement, the government confirmed that it will continue to handle the IPTL issue including ongoing processes and investigations in line with good governance principles.

BSDPs pledged their willingness to collaborate with the government in governance reforms and in strengthening the capacities of anti-corruption institutions, the statement said.

“In the meeting BSDPs expressed appreciation on how Tanzania’s accountability institutions addressed the issues arising from the IPTL saga, as reflected in the resolutions of Parliament and the guidance by the President in his speech on 22nd December 2014,” reads part of the statement.

The release of the $44 million makes a total amount of money released by donors through the general budget support to reach $130 million (about Sh230 billion).

The Development Partners had committed to release $558 million (about Sh1 trillion), which represents approximately 5 per cent of the 2014/2015 national budget.

The Citizen