TSSF boss now in trouble over conning allegations
What you need to know:
- The directive was made after the TSSF boss was questioned by the deputy minister and the ministry’s permanent secretary, Dr Leonard Akwilapo, on the eligibility of the NGO, which recently announced its plans to issue soft loans to higher education students.
Dar es Salaam. Deputy minister of Education, Science and Technology William Olenasha yesterday directed the immediate arrest of the director-general of a local nongovernmental organisation, Tanzania Social Support Foundation (TSSF), Mr Donati Salla, over conning allegations.
The directive was made after the TSSF boss was questioned by the deputy minister and the ministry’s permanent secretary, Dr Leonard Akwilapo, on the eligibility of the NGO, which recently announced its plans to issue soft loans to higher education students.
Meanwhile, the NGO was banned from all processes to provide loans to higher education students due to alleged irregularities.
Mr Olenasha also expressed the government’s doubts about the TSSF’s capacity to finance higher education students, saying the NGO had insufficient balance in its bank accounts.
The NGO has so far received 600 applications from university students, who each paid Sh30,000 as application fee. “They planned this year to provide loans to 198 students from various universities, whose annual tuition fees amount to Sh535 million, but in their bank account, they have between Sh60 and 70 million,” said the deputy minister.
“So, it is clear that they are conning Tanzanians on the pretext of providing loans to higher education students, who have missed the allocation from Higher Education Students’ Loans Board,” he added.
