CAG Prof Assad warns of constitutional crisis in parliament’s bid to eject him

Dar es Salaam. The Controller and Auditor General (CAG) Prof Mussa Assad has warned of a brewing constitutional crisis following a resolution by the parliament to distance itself from working with his office.

The ruling-party dominated parliament on Tuesday April 2 endorsed a motion to stop working with the CAG over remarks he made during an interview with United Nations Radio last year in which he termed the parliament as “weak.”

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

Despite the parliament’s decision, however, the CAG said his office has already submitted a national audit report to the President as per the requirements of the country’s constitution. He revealed this during an interview with the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) on April 3.

“My office has already submitted the audit report to the President and it must be submitted to parliament in 7 days. It must be made a public document soon after submission. If this is not done, it will mean breach of the constitution,’’ said Prof Assad.

The CAG said on TBC1, among other things, that it is very important for the parliament to rethink about the decision it has taken and be mindful of the impact that this would create in terms of how the government works with the parliament.

This comes after the parliamentary Privileges, Ethics and Powers Committee led by Emmanuel Mwakasaka said it found the CAG guilty of "disrespecting" the Parliament.

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But the parliament has come under heavy criticism for its decision to terminate its working relationship with the CAG. Opposition MPs who stood by the CAG were yesterday forced to face interrogation by the parliamentary Privileges, Ethics and Powers Committee.