Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) and Tanzania Government Flight Agency (TGFA) became the first victims of a devastating report on irregular procurement.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan dissolved the TRC Board and dismissed the aviation agency’s Director-General John Nzulule.
The Controller and Auditor General (CAG) report for 2021/22 uncovered substantial irregularities in the procurement of a cargo plane that was afterwards leased to Air Tanzania, as well as the acquisition of locomotives for the TRC.
According to the report, the contracts engaged in the building of the Standard Railway Gauge (SGR) were not of national interest.
The TRC twice rejected the lowest bidder’s offer of $263.4 million for the locomotives and passenger coaches, instead opting for a non-competitive purchase of $478 million.
The choice to make a non-competitive procurement cost the taxpayers an extra $215 million (Sh507.4 billion).
Furthermore, the TRC performed the process without a performance guarantee in the contract to purchase the locomotive and passenger coaches, resulting in a loss of Euro 5.3 million (Sh13.7 billion).
According to the article, the final installment for the production of a cargo jet ordered by the government flying agency was $37 million. Yet, a $86 million invoice was filed to the government for payment.
The presidency also asked the chief secretary to ensure that permanent secretaries and director-generals of government agencies read the CAG report and execute the recommendations made in it, according to a statement issued on Sunday evening.