The ‘missing’ Sh1.5 trillion likely to ignite huge debate in Parliament

Dar es Salaam. The debate on the whereabouts of Sh1.5 trillion that was reported to be missing by the office of the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) for financial year 2016/17 is expected to resume in Parliament.
This comes as the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is set to start analysing critically the CAG report that sparked the huge debate within and outside Parliament earlier in the year.  
The PAC meeting is according to the Bunge statement issued on Friday, August 17 that has it in that the parliamentary committees will meet ahead of the National Assembly set for September.
The statement stated that accounts committees, PAC and Local Government Accounts Committee (LAAC) will analyse the issues highlighted in CAG Report, however, it didn’t specify whether the committees will discuss the ‘missing’ Sh1.5 trillion.
The debate on Sh1.5 trillion was initiated after Kigoma Urban MP Zitto Kabwe (ACT–Wazalendo) addressed a press conference in Dodoma revealing that the CAG report had established that the money was missing.
Tabling the report, the CAG, Prof Mussa Assad, said in the year under review the actual revenue collected by the government from identified sources amounted to Sh25.3 trillion and spent Sh23.7 trillion leaving Sh1.5 trillion unaccounted.
After a huge debate, government issued the clarification saying the money wasn’t stolen.
The clarification was made in a parliamentary session on Friday, April 20, by the deputy minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Ashatu Kijaji, who said that these were rumours that were being spread by a few individuals who were not patriotic.
 “The money which is said to have gone missing was calculated from Treasury bonds (Sh697 billion); ‘Receivable’ revenues (Sh687 billion), and revenue that was collected on behalf of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, amounting to Sh203 billion,” she explained.
“Therefore there was no money that was spent without being approved by Parliament as it is being claimed,” she stressed.
Speaking at a State House function where he swore-in 10 judges, Dr Magufuli spoke strongly against people who he said were spreading lies via social media that Sh1.5 trillion had been unaccounted for.
“When I heard that Sh1.5 trillion has been lost, I called the CAG over the matter. He assured me that it was not true. I called the Permanent Secretary of the Treasury, who also assured me that it was not true,” he said.