Sitta: Govt probing theft of Sh8 billion during conference

East African Cooperation minister Samuel Sitta addresses a meeting of the Tanzania Youth Council in Dar es Salaam.

Dar es Salaam. East African Co-operation minister Samuel Sitta said yesterday the government was investigating the embezzlement of Sh8 billion, allegedly by officials entrusted with organising the recent Smart Partnership Dialogue.

“Eight billion was pocketed by unscrupulous officials who created ghost companies to benefit from the meeting and now investigations are ongoing,’’ Mr Sitta told journalists yesterday in Dar es Salaam.

He spoke during the official opening of a three-day meeting of the Tanzania Youth Council at Rombo Green View Hotel in Sinza. The meeting, attended by 120 youth from 50 districts, was to discuss the new draft constitution and make recommendations.

Pressed for more information, Mr Sitta said the investigations would show how the suspected officials colluded to siphon the money. “We are tired of probe teams because each time you wake up you are told we have formed a team to investigate scandals but the outcome of investigation is always zipped and kept in shelves,” the vocal minister said. “This is unacceptable.’’

It was the first time a senior official was speaking on the matter almost a month after the three-day conference that coincided with US President Barack Obama’s visit.

But Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Permanent Secretary John Haule dismissed Mr Sitta’s claims as “allegations aimed at seeking cheap popularity” and said there was no grain of truth in the allegations.

Mr Haule added: “There have been such allegations from a section of cabinet ministers and even the police and Prevention of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) have gone yonder to inquire into the matter, but I can assure you that there is not even a single cent that was misused. There is no probe team in my ministry that is investigating the said embezzlement.”

The PS confirmed, though, that there was a team reviewing how money allocated to the conference was spent. The host committee included officials from the ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation. The review team, according to Mr Haule, is working under the Chief Secretary Mr Ombeni Sefue’s direction. A report will be handed to him as the chairman of the organising committee not later than July 30.

According to Mr Sitta, the “scandal” was a sign that some public officials and leaders were a greedy lot who worked to enrich themselves even as many Tanzanians continued to languish in abject poverty.

The minister spoke of a trend in which dishonest leaders create ghost companies that are given big government tenders with a view to swindling cash that ends up in their pockets.

Mr Sitta now wants clauses in the new constitution that will cover leadership ethics and integrity. “You are not elected to enrich yourself and your family or stash the tax payers’ money in Swiss banks,” he added. “I wonder when I hear of someone hiding staggering amounts of our cash overseas.”

The minister, who is also Urambo East lawmaker, took a swipe at leaders who have been dishing out huge amounts of cash at religious events. It was difficult to tell whether that money was genuinely theirs or was stolen, he added.

“You see someone donating millions in less than two weeks--which raises questions as to where the money is coming from,” he said without naming anyone.

Mr Sitta reiterated his objection to a three-tier government in the draft constitution, saying it would cost the country should the people give it the green light in the new mother law. He dismissed it as a plot by “selfish leaders” to create unnecessary positions for their benefit.