THE National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) is on the verge of bankruptcy due to government failure to pay a huge debt and rising fraud in card use, according to the latest audit on public sector expenditure.

The Controller and Auditor General’s report for the 2022/2023 which was made public this week, said NHIF made a loss of 156.77bn/- during the year.

Although this is a 24 percent drop from the 205.95bn/- loss reported in 2021/2022, it is still the highest among public entities.

 The Fund's financial situation was compounded by accumulated debts of 208bn/- owed by the government and 137.8bn/- bill for treatment of non-communicable diseases alone.

“Efforts are being made to clear the debts, but the fund is bearing a big financial burden,” he said.

The NHIF, which currently has more than five million paying members, has been at loggerheads with private hospitals and pharmacy owners for some years over delayed refunds or payments for services provided to patients through NHIF cards.

Health authorities are trying to revitalise the fund under a new Universal Health Insurance Act passed last year and was set to become operational this month but remains stalled by an ongoing dispute between government and private healthcare providers over the revised payment rates for services rendered.

The new UHI legislation removes tax exemptions previously granted to healthcare services while compelling every Tanzanian to enrol in a recognised health insurance scheme.

It also doesn’t directly address challenges posed by the fast spread of non-communicable diseases in Tanzania which require costly treatments, including regular CT scans and MRI tests.

According to CAG’s report, other state firms that recorded particularly big losses for the year were the TIB Development Bank at 131.07bn/-, Tanzania Railways Corporation at $39.49 million, Tanzania National Oil company at 76.56bn/- and national carrier Air Tanzania at 56.64bn/-.

The report also noted the high rental expenses for Tanzania missions abroad with inflated rental charges for offices and accommodation.

The CAG Charles Kichere said that rehabilitation of the Chancery in Kampala was not implemented despite 1.78/- being paid to the contractor in Uganda since July 2018.

Kichere further said that rehabilitation of the old chancery building in Washington DC had encountered setbacks, including inflated costs from unjustified value added tax of 20 percent.

He ordered relevant authorities to take appropriate action on individuals and public departments mentioned in the report before the parliament takes the report for deliberation.

The CAG reports include performance audits for local government departments, public business corporations and the central government.