Reported by
Faridah N Kulumba
Zanzibar’s President Hussein Ali Mwinyi has sacked three heads of special units only in this week after it emerged that there were ghost workers in their departments who occasioned huge losses of public funds.
The three officials whose appointment have been revoked include the head of department of corrections Ali Abdallah Ali, head of National Service Department Col Ali Mtumweni Hamad and the head of the Anti-Smuggling Unit Hassan Mussa Mzee as per the article published by IPPmadia.
On Wednesday President Mwinyi while addressing the media said following reports of ghost workers in the mentioned departments, he formed a probe team to verify the number of employees and the scales of salaries paid to all units. Dr Mwinyi said that after the investigations, the probe team made a report which indicated that there were 381 people who were being paid salaries without being in employment.
He revealed that the money was being received for the entire period they were in the units, adding that what came to light was when the probe team started work-as some of the units started to embark on the processes to formalise the existence of the ghost workers.
President Mwinyi also said that during the investigations some officers were caught red handed in a private owned house while putting on military uniforms had their photographs taken to prove that they were officially employed.
Combating corruption and embezzlements.
President Hussein Ali Mwinyi is the 8th Zanzibar’s president, who has been in the office for only six months since he assumed office on 3 November 2020, but he has sacked more than 100 government officials.
In accordance with Article 53 of Zanzibar’s Constitution of 1984, President Mwinyi has the power to hire and fire top government officials. One month after Mwinyi was sworn in as Zanzibar’s president, he fired Secretary to the president Mr Saleh, whom he had appointed after only 37 days.
During a press conference at the Zanzibar State House In February this year, President Hussein Ali Mwinyi outlined the 10 major issues that he had achieved during his first 100 days as the president of Zanzibar, he said that he had fired 80 civil servants, after receiving credible information that they had been engaging themselves in corrupt practices the Citizen reported.
Isaac Mumena journalist from Zanzibar in an interview with African report said that: ” indeed President Mwinyi has done so much by taking disciplinary action against those found guilty,” said Mumena.
How much money was lost?
The semi-autonomous Island president Dr Mwinyi said in his statement that it has been found out that over 2.23bn shillings was lost during this fraud. According to his statement, the probe team also verified the payment of allowances in the units and found out that in December 2020 alone, 304, 135,939shillings was paid as allowances which is equivalent to 1.82bn shillings which was paid in six months period beginning in July last year.
Will the money be recovered?
President Mwinyi explained that the probe team while doing their jobs, interrogated two retirees who later agreed to return over 10 million shillings, the money which was paid to the government consolidated fund.
How were ghost employees signing for payment? Or even withdrawing the payments?