Muhongo quits over escrow scam

Dar es Salaam. Energy and Minerals Minister Sospeter Muhongo has finally succumbed to public pressure over the Tegeta Escrow account scandal. He announced his resignation yesterday, becoming the fourth and final high ranking government official to quit over the scandal in which a whopping Sh306 billion was siphoned from the account at the Central Bank.

Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) and Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL) jointly owned the account following a tussle over capacity charges between the two in local and international courts.

Former Attorney General Fredrick Werema, who was accused of facilitating the withdrawal of the billions, resigned in mid-December.

The saga cost Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Development Minister Anna Tibaijuka her job. She was among the escrow beneficiaries who received Sh1.6b and was sacked a day after a show of defiance in which she vowed that she would not resign.

Energy and Minerals Permanent Secretary Eliakim Maswi has, in the meantime, been suspended since December pending investigations on his role in the matter.

Prof Muhongo will be remembered for staging the most spirited defence since the matter was first brought up in Parliament in May 2014 during debate on his ministry’s budget and also in November, when Parliament received a report from Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the scandal. The President is expected to announce changes in the Cabinet and Parliament when business resumes on Tuesday.

Opposition parliamentarians, led by Mr John Mnyika (Chadema, Ubungo) and Mr David Kafulila (Kigoma South, NCCR—Mageuzi) threatened that in the event that Prof Muhongo returned to the next sitting as a minister, they would move a motion to impeach Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda for the government’s failure to uphold the resolutions of the House.

Mr Muhongo neutralised that possibility when he declared that he felt he was the last stumbling block in the sorry business and decided to go so things could get back to normal far from the escrow ghost.

He added: “The government must carry on with its core duties. Parliament also must get on with other important businesses. My party CCM must also get back to serving the people, especially the poor and the general. The public needs to focus on how to take this country to the next level…I think I’m not part of the solution and I have to get out of the way.”

Everything must come to an end, he added, and he and his family were tired of the “false” accusations levelled against him.

PAC found that Prof Muhongo lied to Parliament and the nation when he said the money Tanesco deposited in the escrow account was not public funds.

The committee noted that, were it not for Prof Muhongo’s failure to verify certain matters, PAP would not have laid its hands on the cash. The committee also established that the minister--a reputed geologist--organised a meeting in his office between PAP and VIP Engineering at which the latter agreed to sell its three shares to PAP.

But Prof Muhongo had a different take on things: “If I was really the middle man in the whole deal as they claim, then logically I would have been the first to receive the share of the monies. But my record is clean and I challenge anyone with proof that I received the escrow cash to go public and produce the evidence.”

PAC Chairman Zitto Kabwe said Prof Muhongo did the right thing in resigning and commended him for his reforms in the ministry in the past two years. “He has shown respect for Parliament and its resolutions,” Mr Kabwe added. “I believe President Kikwete will appoint a competent man or woman to replace Prof Muhongo.”

Three parliamentary committee chairpersons have also resigned over the scandal. Those who handed in their letters to the Office of the Speaker are Bariadi West MP Andrew Chenge, Sengerema MP William Ngeleja and Lupa MP Victor Mwambalaswa.

Mr Chenge and Mr Ngeleja--both from CCM--chaired Parliament’s Budget Committee and Legal Affairs and Governance Committee respectively. Mr Mwambalaswa chaired the Energy and Minerals Committee. The trio received about Sh1.7 billion in total, of which Mr Chenge got Sh1.6 billion from Mr James Rugemalira, who was a shareholder in IPTL.

Five other government officials have been taken to court pending charges of dishonestly receiving over Sh2.5 billion from Mr Rugemalira.

Those charged are Mr Steven Urassa, a senior legal officer at Tanesco; Mr Julius Angello, the director of finance at the Bank of Tanzania (BoT); Mr Kyabukoba Mutabingwa, a tax exemption manager at TRA; Mr Rugonzibwa Mujunangoma, the director of legal services at the ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development; and Mr Theophillo Bwakea, a principal engineer at the Rural Energy Agency.