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PM on right track
2008-03-03 08:49:11
By Editor
The promotion of integrity, transparency and accountability in government and politics is one of the key tasks of government leaders. On the face of it, this task might be taken for granted.
However, in a country as big as ours, with a population exceeding 30 million people, and the building of nationhood still in progress, such an undertaking is definitely challenging.
Usually, whenever we talk about transparency, we usually focus on central government operations, forgetting the fact that the greater part of the population is served directly by local governments.
The performance of local governments in Tanzania has been wanting for historical reasons.
On the other hand, it is quite convenient to blame history for any failings that we may currently have, especially in the area of internal control.
A properly supervised town, municipal, district or city council will ensure the attainment of the following objectives: protection of assets, effectiveness and efficiency of operations, reliability of financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Sad to say, the major weaknesses of local governments in Tanzania are officials exercising virtually unsupervised control of financial matters (lack of effective internal financial controls) and extreme vulnerability to fraud.
Worse still, many of the local government leaders, including councillors, do not understand their responsibility to protect public assets, and are instead more than willing to serve as conduits or direct beneficiaries of pillage of council resources.
It is this truth that might have motivated Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda, during his on-going tour of Rukwa Region, to state that there is a big possibility that there are worse scandals of dubious contracts in some of the local councils than the Richmond power generation contract.
The PM went further to call upon members of the public to report any fraudulent activities being undertaken by local government executives.
That such a problem exists is no secret, because these grievances are frequently appearing in the media.
Add to that, the Prime Minister`s previous portfolio had to do with the administration of local governments, so he knows what he is talking about.
In fact, on day one, right after Parliament had endorsed his nomination, the Prime Minister singled government functionaries at grassroots level who had established themselves as demigods and were abusing their power.
During his tour of Rukwa Region, the Prime Minister directed that government functionaries should, during the farming season, desist from compelling people to contribute for the construction of ward secondary schools because the latter need to invest all their energy and resources on cultivation.
The Prime Minister also warned ward executives not to arrest people because they were not empowered by the law to do so.
This is the second time since his nomination that Premier Pinda has remarked about the problem. It is clear that it irks him.
We wish to congratulate the Prime Minister for taking the efficiency and accountability of local functionaries as his main agenda.
It might not win him massive popularity, but that is the right path to take.
It is also good that he has reminded the low level apparatchiks that the arrest of citizens who have not committed a crime is both illegal and unconstitutional.
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