Why the opposition thinks the government's priorities are wrong

Dodoma. The Opposition has poked holes into the government’s flagship projects and accused the fifth phase administration of having misplaced priorities.

At a press conference yesterday, the opposition bench said given the mandate to form a government, it would not pursue some of the major ongoing projects.

It would, instead, direct much of the taxpayers’ money towards what it says are the five critical areas.

The projects the opposition would shun include the construction of the Stiegler’s Gorge hydropower dam along Rufiji River in the Selous Game Reserve, the ongoing construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line and the buying of airplanes for Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL), according to leader of opposition in Parliament, Mr Freeman Mbowe.

Mr Mbowe, who said the opposition will officially deliver its alternative budget in Parliament tomorrow, said the government had no business plans for the SGR and the ATCL projects.

He said the Stiegler’s Gorge project sounds costly to him, especially due to the fact that the country already has a natural gas pipeline, which is grossly underutilised. “We are told the Stiegler’s Gorge will produce 2,100MW of electricity, but here we have a pipeline – built with a $1.2 billion concessional loan from Exim Bank of China – whose utilisation is only six per cent of its capacity,” said Mr Mbowe.

He said if the Sh7 trillion that is to be spent on the Stiegler’s Gorge were to be injected into drilling more gas, it would help production up to 10,000MW of electricity.

And with no proper business plan, he said, ATCL will take years to start making profits. He said that the losses will keep souring when the purchased Boeing 787 Dreamliner comes since operating it will require the services of expatriates.

Speaking in the presence of the Shadow Finance and Planning Minister, Ms Halima Mdee, and several other Members of Parliament from the opposition bench, Mr Mbowe said the alternative budget will have five priority areas.

It is the belief of the opposition bench that investing public monies in education, agriculture, agricultural value chain as well as health and water is the best way ito the building of an inclusive economy.

“Currently, every well-to-do family is sending children to private schools because of the poor state of infrastructure in public schools.... This is the area that needs increased investments,” he said. He said, the government’s much-touted industrial economy should start with agricultural revolution, which should go along with value addition of agricultural products.

According to Mr Mbowe, the implementation of the Sh32.5 trillion 2018/19 budget – which was presented in Parliament by the Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Phillip Mpango on Thursday, – will be difficult because of a tendency by the government to redirect approved funds to new areas in contravention of the law.

With most expenditure decisions being made outside Parliament, said Mr Mbowe, the country finds itself in a situation where very little development funds reach some of the critical sectors while certain ministries receive much more than what was approved by Parliament.

“In 2016/17, for instance, Parliament approved Sh100.5 billion as development budget for the Ministry of Agriculture, but only Sh2.5 billion – which is equivalent to 2.2 per cent of the approved funds – was disbursed,” he said.

During the same financial year, the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries and that of Water received only 3.25 per cent and 25 per cent of the approved funds, respectively. The situation has not changed, he said, noting that during the current financial year, the Ministry of Agriculture; the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development as well as that of Water had, until March 2018, received only 11 per cent, 0 (zero) per cent and 22 per cent of their development funds, respectively. On the other hand, the opposition says several ministries have so far received more funds contrary to what was endorsed by Parliament.

While Parliament had approved Sh4.6 billion as development budget for the Ministry of Information, Culture, Sports and Arts for the 2017/18 financial year, the ministry has so far spent a total of Sh8.8 billion, being 257 per cent of what was approved.

Similarly, the National Election Commission has spent Sh6.03 billion against an approved budget of Sh2.47 billion while the Ministry of Home Affairs has spent Sh11.3 billion – which is 343 per cent of the Sh4.4 billion that was approved by the legislative body.

The Ministry of State in the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government Authorities) has so far spent Sh17.123 billion – being 278 per cent of the Sh8.212 billion that was approved by the Parliament.