Tanzania Parliament resolves to stop working with Controller and Auditor General Prof Assad

Dodoma. The Parliament on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 resolved to stop working with the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) Mussa Assad.

 The ruling-party-dominated-parliament endorsed a motion by the Parliamentary Privileges, Ethics and Powers Committee that the legislative body stops working with Prof Assad after it (the committee) convicted him of "disrespecting" the Parliament.

Moving the motion in Parliament on Tuesday, April 02, 2019, the committee chairman Emmanuel Mwakasaka said his body found Prof Assad guilty.

Prof Assad appeared before the Parliamentary Privileges, Ethics and Powers Committee on Monday, January 21, 2019 after being ordered to do so by the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Job Ndugai.

Read: http://bit.ly/2U0u52I

On January 7, 2019, Speaker of Parliament Job Ndugai ordered Prof Assad to appear before the Parliamentary Privileges, Ethics and Powers Committee and respond to allegations of disrespecting the legislative body.

Mr Ndugai went further, demanding that should Prof Assad fail to honour the summons, then he would be brought before the committee while in handcuffs.

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The Speaker’s decision to order the CAG to appear before Parliamentary Privileges, Ethics and Powers Committee, created a heated debate that tore the nation into two opposition groups as one supported the Speaker’s move while yet another group vehemently opposed it.

It was amidst the debate that Prof Assad finally opened up last on January 17, 2019, saying he would honour the summons and appear before the committee.

Also read: http://bit.ly/2FDHxFW

The bone of contention between the Speaker and the CAG started several days ago when Prof Assad said in an interview with the UN ki-Swahili Service that his institution prepares audit reports which are supposed to be worked on by Parliament.

“If we are producing reports – and no action is taken – to me, that’s a weakness of the Parliament... I believe it is a challenge that should be worked on… Parliament is failing to exercise its responsibilities effectively,” Prof Assad reportedly said.