Among those suspended were six directors, five managers and an engineer, according to a statement released yesterday in Dar es Salaam. The decision was arrived at on Friday in a meeting led by the new NSSF Board chairman Prof Samwel Wangwe.
Dar es Salaam. The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has been stripped of the entire top management after 12 senior officials were sent home yesterday to pave the way for investigations into scandals that have cost the fund billions of shillings.
Among those suspended were six directors, five managers and an engineer, according to a statement released yesterday in Dar es Salaam. The decision was arrived at on Friday in a meeting led by the new NSSF Board chairman Prof Samwel Wangwe.
The removal of the top officers is the first sweeping move against NSSF since President Magufuli came to power in November 2015.
The statement from the office of the director general, Prof Godius Kahyarara, said the officers had been suspended to allow investigations into reports of funds embezzlement and abuse of office. Prof Kahyarara was picked to replace former DG Ramadhan Dau who was named Ambassador at large by President Magufuli.
The investigations, it said, were necessitated by various reports, including findings of the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) on questionable operations at NSSF.
Areas to be probed include in funds embezzlement, abuse of power and flouting rules on investments, land purchase and employment.
Directors sent home include Yacoub Kidula (Planning, investment and projects), Ludovick Mrosso (Finance), Chiku Matessa (Administration and Human Resource), Sadi Shemliwa (Disaster Management), Pauline Mtunda (Internal Audit) and Crescentius Magori (Operations).
The managers affected are Amina Abadalla (Administration), Abdalla Mseli (Investment), John Msemo (Projects), Davis Kalanje (Chief Accountant), Advocate Chedrick Komba (Temeke Regional Manager) and John Ndazi (Projects).
The statement did not state how long the probe would take and who will be leading the task. Trouble has been brewing at the fund since damaging CAG reports emerged on how cartels colluded to benefit from billions of shillings in questionable investments in mega projects.
The latest CAG report, for example, detailed how the NSSF could lose Sh66 billion due to unpaid loans by former employees, cancellation of projects and imprudent investment in housing estates and savings and credit co-operative societies (saccos).
