Bunge wary of Mlimani City, UDSM contract
Mlimani Holding general manager Pastory Mrosso shows members of the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) the location where the firm plans to build a three-star hotel at Mlimani City in Dar es Salaam during PAC’s visit on nThursday. PHOTO | ELIAS MSUYA
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Speaking shortly after going through a financial report and general performance of the UDSM, PAC chairperson Naghenjwa Kaboyoka said while the contract required Mlimani Holding Ltd to pay the UDSM 10 per cent of its gross income per year from the project’s proceeds, the investor had been disbursing 10 per cent of the net income.
Dar es Salaam. The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) wants immediate amendments to a contract between the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and Mlimani Holding Ltd, citing several inconsistencies that deny the government of its rightful share of revenue from the deal.
Speaking shortly after going through a financial report and general performance of the UDSM, PAC chairperson Naghenjwa Kaboyoka said while the contract required Mlimani Holding Ltd to pay the UDSM 10 per cent of its gross income per year from the project’s proceeds, the investor had been disbursing 10 per cent of the net income.
In the same vein, the investor has not been paying land rent for undeveloped land it acquired from UDSM as part of the contract agreement.
But in response, Mlimani Holding Ltd general manager Pastory Mrosso said the contract gave the company the mandate to return part of the land which it did not use without paying tax. According to the UDSM director of planning, development and investment, Dr Pancras Bujulu, between 2007-2017, Mlimani Holding Ltd paid the university a total of Sh16 billion, an average of Sh1.2 billion per year.
According to PAC member Jamal Kassim, the contract showed that the investor did not have sufficient investment capital to run the project. Contract details indicate that the investor had only Sh150,000 as investment capital.
“How did that happen? The UDSM management ended up signing an agreement with an investor who had no sufficient funds for investment. Why didn’t the UDSM apply for bank loans to implement the project?” he enquired.
Ms Kaboyoka summoned UDSM officials who were involved in the signing of the contract to appear before the committee in Dodoma for a fact-finding session.
