President Magufuli confirms Mr Kilaba as the new TCRA boss

Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli has appointed Mr James Kilaba as Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) Director General.

A statement released by Chief Secretary Mr John Kijazi indicates that the appointment is with effect from Saturday, October 8.

Before the appointment Mr Kilaba acting TCRA Irector General. Mr Kilaba replaces Dr Ally Yahaya Simba, whose appointment was revocked by President Magufuli.

Dr Simba, and board chairman Prof Haji Semboja were sacked by President Magufuli following a damning report by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG).

The two were sent packing in April in an apparent purge by President Magufuli targeting those implicated by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) in his 2014/15 report.

President Magufuli fired Dr Simba and dissolved the five-member board headed by Prof Semboja over a reported loss of Sh400 billion yearly in mobile phone tax revenue.

The huge loss was detailed in the CAG Report that was tabled in Parliament on in April and was blamed on a Sh42 billion contract entered between TCRA and Switzerland based Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS). The contract signed in 2013 was to undertake a Telecommunication Traffic Monitoring System (TTMS).