Bunge team grills Mdee for over 2 hours

Dodoma. Tanzania’s Parliamentary Privileges, Ethics, and Powers Committee yesterday grilled Kawe Member of Parliament Halima Mdee for over two hours.

Ms Mdee arrived at the meeting room at around 11 am and was grilled until 1 pm. However, no details about what transpired in the meeting was forthcoming as Bunge officials told the media that no details would have been divulged.

Ms Mdee and the Controller and Auditor General, Prof Mussa Assad, are accused of branding Parliament weak.

The National Assembly Speaker, Mr Job Ndugai, said on January 7, 2019 that Prof Assad, formerly Associate Professor of Accounting at the University of Dar es Salaam, and Ms Mdee should stand before the Parliamentary Privileges, Ethics and Powers Committee on January 21 and 22 respectively.

The bone of contention between the CAG and Parliament started a few days ago during an interview with the United Nations’ Kiswahili Service, when Prof Assad said his institution prepared audit reports, which were supposed to be acted on by Parliament.

“If we produce reports and no action is taken, personally I think that’s Parliament’s weakness….I believe it is a challenge that will be worked on…. Parliament fails to exercise its responsibilities effectively,” he said.

However, it is not clear whether Ms Mdee was summoned by the committee in connection with the CAG remarks.