AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) has recovered over 11.3bn/- out of 103.6bn/- it has been investigating in relation to fraudulent and corrupt practices on financial expenditure involving cooperative unions.
Speaking at a press conference in Dar es Salaam, the PCCB Director General, Brigadier General John Mbungo, revealed that investigations are ongoing on the remaining sum of 92,328,633,201.43 which is alleged to have been misappropriated.
He was giving a briefing on investigations on a cooperative unions’ audit report for 2018/2019 whose information was issued by Agriculture Minister Japhet Hasunga on November 26, 2019 and given to the PCCB to investigate in the wake of allegations of fraudulent and corrupt practices related to financial expenditure of cooperative unions.
According to him, when revealing the second report of investigations on the matter on March 14, 2020, the director general pointed out that the amount of money investigated was 66,255,488,545/73, while 8,898,661,156/88 was saved, and the PCCB were continuing investigating 57,356,827,388/85.
“In this third phase, until May 15, 2020, we present this third phase of investigations; the PCCB has investigated a total sum of 103,643,076,623/74. The amount of money saved so far is 11,314,443,422/31. Investigation is still ongoing in relation to against 92,328,633,201/43,” he said.
Brigadier Mbungo also explained that the PCCB had focused on ensuring that the money of Tanzanians who have been victimized is restored, but in addition to the task, they have initiated investigations, plus filing court cases against those who did not cooperate in making refunds.
“Through this operation, we have opened 79 files for investigations in various regions countrywide. There are 11 ongoing cases in our courts and there are nine files that are in the process of being completed, so we can take the suspects to court,” he said.
Furthermore, the director general said, there were files whose investigations were completed and closed after all the required refunds or complaints raised had been addressed with both parties being satisfied with the given answers.
According to him, there were other files whose investigations were ongoing, although the money that was claimed had started to be recovered but investigations revealed allegations of theft and fraud and there were files involving demanded money being repaid but there are also ongoing cases in court.
Brigadier Mbungo warned six unions that he described as notorious, because despite the fact that they were aware that they owed money to farmers and they also knew that they had been given time to recover the money, they had not yet started to effect the refunds.
He named the unions with the amount of money owed in brackets as KYEKU LTD of Mbeya City (476m/-), TANECU LTD of cashew nuts in Mtwara (359m/-), NEEMA SACCOS LTD of Njombe Region (234m/-) and MAMCU of cashew nuts in Mtwara (2.5bn/-).
Others are RUNALI Union in Nachingwea (856m/-) and SCCULT Union of Dar es Salaam (4.8bn/-).
“I am ordering these unions to start returning the money owed by the farmers as soon as possible, and that after this month, measures to arrest the owners and the leaders of the unions in accordance with the law will be taken against them, without any further notice to them,” he remarked.
