Bunge team orders investigation into TPA bank accounts

Dodoma. The parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed three State institutions to conduct investigations into Sh440 billion deposited by Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) in fixed accounts at various banks.

PAC deputy chairman Aeshi Hillary said the accounts had been opened with CRDB Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, NMB and NBC.

Institutions directed to carry out the investigations are the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), Controller and Auditor General (CAG) and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

Reading out the committee’s directives, shortly after verifying accounts audited by the CAG for 2014/15, committee chairperson Naghenjwa Kaboyoka said the investigations aimed at determining interest rates agreed upon between the banks and TPA and the amount earned by the authority thereafter.

“In the next TPA audit the auditors should verify interest rates that had been agreed upon and the sum earned on deposits in various bank accounts totalling Sh440 billion,” Ms Kaboyoka said.

Earlier, committee member Ezekiel Maige said commercial banks had set interest rates which allowed customers depositing up to Sh500 million in fixed accounts to earn not less than 7.5 per cent as interest.

He added that a customer depositing up to Sh2 billion expects to earn not less than nine per cent as interest, while deposits of more than Sh2 billion drew interest of over 13 per cent.

However, Mr Maige said TPA in 2014/15 deposited Sh440 billion and a report by the CAG showed that about Sh17 billion was supposed to be paid as interest.

“But the amount earned shows that the interest rates they agreed upon with the banks were below two per cent,” he said.

The MP added that TPA was supposed to earn at least Sh57 billion from its deposits with the banks.

“This shows that TPA officials were complicit in corrupt deals...they conspired with crooked bank employees and shared the loot,” he said.

Mr Hillary, who was supported by fellow committee member Jamal Kassim Ali, said all banks involved in the scam should to be taken to task.

“This is not acceptable...there are people who have been involved in fraud, and they must be brought to account,”he said.

Mr Joseph Kakunda said disciplinary action should be taken against all those involved in the scam, adding that the buck should not stop with the director general and procurement director only.

“As we speak two employees have had their contracts terminated and have been paid handsome benefits. Action taken against them is very lenient compared with the seriousness of the offence committed,” he said.

He criticised the TPA board for authorising Sh14.5 billion for travel, Sh12.8 billion for advertisements and Sh9.3 billion for the TPA workers’ council.

Treasury Registrar Lawrence Mafuru said despite the challenges TPA was facing, the authority contributed Sh150 billion to public coffers in 2015/16 compared with only Sh12 billion in 2014/15.