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EPA task force mum on recovered cash
2008-05-01 11:03:31
By Correspondent Felister Peter
The presidential team investigating the embezzlement of 133bn/- through the central bank`s External Payment Arrears Account (EPA) has said it is currently not in a position to state how much has been recovered so far.
Speaking on behalf of committee chairman Johnson Mwanyika, the Spokesman of the Attorney General`s Office, Omega Ngole, said the team was still conducting investigations. ``At the moment, the committee would not like to make any information public,`` he said.
The task force comprises Attorney General Johnson Mwanyika, who is the chairman, Inspector General of Police Said Mwema and Director General of the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau Edward Hoseah.
Ngole said information on the amount of money that had so far been collected would be made public soon after the team members have met and discussed the issue.
Asked about the progress of recovering the EPA money, Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Mustafa Mkullo told The Guardian that there had been some progressive developments.
However, he declined to state how much had so far been recovered.
``I have been out of the country for the past two weeks. Since my return, I have never communicated with the presidential committee. However, what I know is that the progress is promising,`` he said.
The committee had announced in early March that it had collected 60bn/- out of the 133bn/- that was embezzled through the Bank of Tanzania`s External Payment Arrears account.
The money was redeemed from individuals and firms that allegedly got the money through dubious means.
President Jakaya Kikwete rescinded the employment of former BoT governor Daudi Ballali after it had been discovered that the banker of other banks occasioned a multi-billion loss through dealings with phony companies in 2005.
Ernst & Young, the auditing firm contracted by the government, revealed that payments amounting to 133,015,186,220.74/- were dubiously made to 22 domestic companies under the EPA scheme in 2005.
Out of the total sum, some 90,359,078,804/- were paid to 13 companies based on fake and forged documentation.
In addition, another nine companies were paid an equivalent of 42,656,107,417/- without any supporting documents to authenticate their claims.
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