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Opposition camp still out for Ballali`s blood
2007-06-27 09:33:31
By Lusekelo Philemon, Dodoma
The opposition camp in the National Assembly has once again insisted that Bank of Tanzania Governor Daud Ballali should resign immediately to allow investigations into allegations involving him to get going.
Debating the budget estimates of the Prime Minister`s Office for 2007/2008 financial year yesterday, Lucy Owenya (Special Seats - Chadema) said the allegations include massive embezzlement of public funds and too damaging for the governor to continue holding his position as if there is nothing wrong.
`The opposition camp is still of the view that the governor should step down to allow judicial procedures to take their course,` she told the House, insisting that the government should form a commission to probe him.
She said the scandal allegations tarnish the image of the government, the National Assembly and various other people in the eyes of the international community.
Contributing to the debate, Chacha Wangwe (Tarime - Chadema) also called on the government to work on the matter `with the urgency and seriousness it deserves to recapture the lost public trust in government and other public officials`.
He said the scandal allegations against the long-serving central bank chief could adversely affect Tanzania’s relations with foreign donors who for many years have had immense trust in the government.
The MP said it was wrong to describe Tanzania as a poor country, `while the only problem we are faced with is mismanagement and misuse of public funds and other resources`, which has led to higher levels of mass poverty.
On Monday evening, the opposition camp similarly demanded that governor Ballali resign following the allegations
against him.
Presenting the camp`s official stand on the PMO’s budget estimates, Dr Wilbroad Slaa (Karatu – Chadema) said the governor should quit and pave the way for investigations into the scandal allegations.
He said if the governor was reluctant to resign, the government should intervene by removing him from office.
`That will make it possible for fair and comprehensive investigations to take place in connection with the scandal allegations facing him,` he added.
Dr Slaa observed that President Jakaya Kikwete had repeatedly called on public officials to be people of exemplary integrity who observed the rules and regulations governing proper financial management.
`If we want to assist our President, who has always been condemning unscrupulous government officials, the government itself should act by throwing the (central bank) governor from office for justice to take its course,` he pointed out.
He noted that even Finance minister Zakia Meghji had confirmed when presenting the 2007/08 government budget estimates that the government was aware of the misappropriation allegations facing the governor.
Dr Slaa also implicated Kwela legislator Chrisant Mzindakaya in the scandal allegations, saying the latter was given 9.7bn/- by Standard Chartered Bank as loan for which the central bank was the guarantor.
The loan was reportedly for use on Mzindakays`s SAAFI Company, which was expected to operate in his native Sumbawanga District in Rukwa Region.
According to Dr Slaa, governor Ballali had a hand in the acquisition and issuance of a 40bn/- loan allegedly extended to Kagoda Agricultural Ltd, with more than 30.8bn issued within eight days.
But Mzindakaya later dismissed the charges against him as baseless, telling the House that he got the bank loan with the government (Finance ministry) merely standing as his guarantor.
`Honourable Speaker, I have never in my life engaged in such a scandal. It is true that I got a loan from Standard Chartered Bank but BoT never guaranteed me to get the loan. Rather, it is the government that guaranteed me,` he stated, without saying how big the loan was.
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