Kisesa MP, Luhaga Mpina

Tanzania is losing 478billion/- every year due to illicit capital flow account has been urged to use the World Bank’s Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) strategy of recovering stolen assets.

Kisesa MP Luhaga Mpina said the strategy will enable a country or an international agent to follow up, to nationalise, liquidate and later bring back the assets into the country that had lost them.

Mpina cited countries like Nigeria, Peru, and the Philippines which had used the strategy through the developed country financial centres to recover their lost assets.

Mpina was debating the budget estimates for the year 2012/13 President’s office, Public Service Management and the budget estimates for the year 2012/2013 for the Planning Commission, under the President Office, Social Relation and Coordination budget for the President’s office (Good Governance).

Mpina told the House that the theft of public funds is increasing because responsible authorities were not giving reports to enable the nation gauge the level of the vice.

“Findings of the report by Ndikumana and Boyce of 2008 in ‘The One Billion Dollar Question with heading “How can Tanzania stop losing much revenue?” shows that Tanzania is losing 478bn/- every year,” said Mpina.

He said regardless of the efforts by the Office of the Controller and Auditor General, various internal and foreign institutions have been giving reports on how public funds are being stolen and deposited abroad.

“The global financial integrity report of 2008 with the heading: Illicit financial flow from Africa: Hidden Resources for Development indicates that Tanzania is the 13th African country out of 20 that are leading in illicit financial flow of public funds.

Funds amounting to 11.6 trillion/- were hidden abroad by business tycoons and government executives between 1977 and 2008,” said the legislator.

Recently local papers reported that 315.5billion/- had been deposited in accounts of six Tanzanians in the Swiss Central Bank and Swiss national Bank.

“Amazingly nothing has been reported in the budget Book by the minister when tabling her budget here or measures to be taken to rescue the lost billions of shillings for the country,” said Mpina.

He blamed the government, the BoT and the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau for being quiet regarding the lost funds when the BoT had all the reports of people who hold accounts abroad.

He told the house that illicit financial flows affect the government revenue collection efforts to improve economic growth.