Africa-Press – Tanzania. ZANZIBAR President Hussein Mwinyi on Tuesday challenged anti-corruption institutions in the country to intensify the fight against bribery, saying the vice remains rife in the country.
He said the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) and Zanzibar Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Authority (ZAECA) for Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar, respectively, are doing a good job but they still need support of all Tanzanians to succeed in the fight.
“We still have a lot of work to do; the role of these institutions (PCCB and ZAECA) is to guide the fight, and they can only succeed if they get cooperation from the public,” Dr Mwinyi said in his speech to commemorate the fight against corruption Day in Africa.
The African Union has since 2017 declared July 11, the continent’s official day to observe the fight against bribery.
But Tanzania rescheduled the national commemorations to July 12 to avail Muslims an ample time to celebrate Eid el Hajj.
President Mwinyi implored all islanders, religious leaders and institutions to effectively play their role in fighting the evil.
“Every citizen is constitutionally obliged to protect the national resources and fight corruption,” he said.
Referring to his November 11, 2020 speech in the House of Representatives, Dr Mwinyi said he remains firmly committed to fight corruption without stuttering, vowing to ensure not a single penny from the Covid-19 relief fund is squandered, ordering strict supervision of all the International Monetary Fund (IMF) soft loan funded projects.
President Mwinyi, who is scheduled to embark on a countrywide tour to inspect the 100 US dollar (over 230bn/-) funded projects, reminded government officers to fix any faults in the projects prior to his arrival.
“I need thorough explanations on the project execution because we want value for our money; if there is any lapse, fix it,” President Mwinyi ordered.
Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa commended the anti-corruption institutions, saying their efficiency has recently improved.
But, he challenged both PCCB and ZAECA to increase efforts to ensure available financial and human resources are appropriately used to serve Tanzanians.
Earlier, PCCB Director General Commissioner of Police Salum Hamduni said the anti-bribery institutions are on the forefront in the fight against corruption.
He said PCCB and ZAECA have established close working collaboration through which they share experience and expertise. CP Hamduni said PCCB is closely monitoring execution of IMF loan funded projects to ensure value for money is realised.
ZAECA Director General Assistant Commissioner of Police Khamis Makarani said the authority has introduced a computer-based system to track all cases but decried the problem of public prosecutors turning themselves into investigators.
“Our job is to investigate; we are neither prosecutors nor judges but lately we have encountered a problem of prosecutors turning themselves into investigators,” ACP Makarani complained before the president.
First Vice-President Othman Masoud Othman, Second Vice-President Hemed Suleiman Abdulla, Speaker of the House of Representatives Zubeir Ali Maulid, ministers and deputy ministers were among the high profile guests at the event.
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