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Sleaze in local governments must stop for ever
2006-12-28 09:35:19
By Editor
Controller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report for the year 2004/5 on local governments is a shocking piece of document that human eyes could ever come across.
CAG is empowered by law to audit financial conduct of all government financial conduct, including local governments, and make the report public.
This country has 115 local government authorities which receive billions of cash from the central government for development purposes in the districts and municipalities.
Out of the 115 councils, only 8 percent secured clean audit reports. A total of 15bn/- was embezzled during the period. Njombe District Council alone spent 3.9bn/- on dubious activities.
Worst of all; the report indicates that as total subsidy from the central government increases over time, so does the embezzlement acts in district councils.
A key question that lingers in the mind is how could councils misappropriate billions of cash year in, year out and get away with it that much easily?
It appears that there are inherent incentives within the public hierarchy which provide for the misuse of public resources with impunity.
Moreover, it appears that the well intended local government reform programme has somewhat gone astray. It looks as if it has given bureaucrats more power and room for abusing public resources.
In fact, it has failed on its key objective of improving service and delivery and strengthening governance at the district level.
Key decisions on development expenditure at local level as well as the funds are now concentrated in the hands of bureaucrats who spend first and then report to councillors later.
At the same time, unlike central government expenditure records, the Parliament has never extensively debated on local government audit findings, which gives councils additional incentives to misappropriate development funds.
We need to reform domestic public institutions thoroughly so that they act as deterrent to stealing public money.
Like when cash is visibly stolen in a certain department and the CAG report attests to the sinful acts, involved bureaucrats must be objectively taken to task: Prosecution, appropriate jail terms if found guilty and reparation of embezzled assets. In addition, law must provide for the confiscation of ill-gotten property.
Without strengthening domestic institutions in the right direction, sleaze in the public sector will continue to thrive.
And that will definitely provide foreign development partners with sufficient proof, may be an excuse in cutting back development assistance to Tanzania.
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