Another Corruption scandal brewing at TANESCO.

ramson34 · 2010-03-31T10:55:50+00:00

The ghost of corruption scandals that have rocked the Tanzanias Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) appears not to be getting away as yet another scandal is reported to be silently brewing at this power utility firm. In the latest reports a scandal in the form of 67 over three tones mini-trucks bought by the Tanzania Electric Supply Company, Tanesco, is said to waiting to blow up any time as the higher authorities in the Ministry of Energy and auditor generals office discover and take on the matter. According to impeccable sources in the Tanzanias sole power utility company, all the mini trucks which were imported in the country recently were supposed to be designed for off-the road work, that is, four by four. But on the contrary the firm purchased two by two mini trucks at a cost of four wheeled trucks. The mini trucks are fitted with state of the art equipment for lifting up and fixing transformers and other heavy objects. Their two by two axle status however renders them incapable of performing their expected tasks as they are weak and unable to lift heavy loads and move off truck Tanesco is reported to have paid Toyota Tanzania Limited a cool 40m US dollars (512bn/-) before the delivery of the mini trucks by the company! Why Tanesco authority did what they did before making sure that the Japanese motor company delivered the specified trucks, which remains another conjecture. Now that that has happened, the right decision would be for Tanesco authority to return the mini trucks to the supplier and demand delivery of the specified four by four mini trucks, a source in Tanesco told the website. He said until now that has not been done and that there were all signs that the mini trucks will never be returned to the supplier. The source told the website that it is most likely that Tanesco top flight officials bought the two wheeled vehicles for the cost of four by four and pocketed the difference! Looking at this particular vehicle purchase, there is only one thing going through it-namely, corruption, he said. This scandal if confirmed will be a flagrant violation of the public procurement regulations and the Public Procurement Act which requires that suppliers should be paid by government departments and agencies only after fulfilling being satisfied that all the goods and services are in delivered as required in the government tender documents. In recent times, procurement has been reported as the most vulnerable area being eaten with corruption as government spends close to 33% of its total budget on procurement. Buying of vehicles for use by government departments and public institutions is increasingly becoming a favourite practice in the country. According to well informed sources, such vehicle purchases provide the easiest and most secret way of getting kickbacks from suppliers. For every number of units provided, the supplier normally gives a number of units to those directly involved in placing orders. It is said that those involved in the business of placing orders to vehicle suppliers nowadays prefer cash to vehicles when it comes to the provision of ten percent commissions. Such officials direct vehicle suppliers to deposit their commissions in their foreign bank accounts. Tanzanian officials have in fact progressed so far, as far as placements of orders is concerned, that they ensure constant receipt of their commissions year in, year out by entering vehicle supplies annual contracts! What this means is that the Tanzanian government is tied, through such a contract, to place order for the supply of a given number of units every year! Another Corruption scandal brewing at TANESCO? The ghost of corruption scandals that have rocked the Tanzanias Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) appears not to be getting away as yet another scandal is reported to be silently brewing at this power utility firm. In the latest reports a scandal in the form of 67 over three tones mini-trucks bought by the Tanzania Electric Supply Company, Tanesco, is said to waiting to blow up any time as the higher authorities in the Ministry of Energy and auditor generals office discover and take on the matter. According to impeccable sources in the Tanzanias sole power utility company, all the mini trucks which were imported in the country recently were supposed to be designed for off-the road work, that is, four by four. But on the contrary the firm purchased two by two mini trucks at a cost of four wheeled trucks. The mini trucks are fitted with state of the art equipment for lifting up and fixing transformers and other heavy objects. Their two by two axle status however renders them incapable of performing their expected tasks as they are weak and unable to lift heavy loads and move off truck Tanesco is reported to have paid Toyota Tanzania Limited a cool 40m US dollars (512bn/-) before the delivery of the mini trucks by the company! Why Tanesco authority did what they did before making sure that the Japanese motor company delivered the specified trucks, which remains another conjecture. Now that that has happened, the right decision would be for Tanesco authority to return the mini trucks to the supplier and demand delivery of the specified four by four mini trucks, a source in Tanesco told the website. He said until now that has not been done and that there were all signs that the mini trucks will never be returned to the supplier. The source told the website that it is most likely that Tanesco top flight officials bought the two wheeled vehicles for the cost of four by four and pocketed the difference! Looking at this particular vehicle purchase, there is only one thing going through it-namely, corruption, he said. This scandal if confirmed will be a flagrant violation of the public procurement regulations and the Public Procurement Act which requires that suppliers should be paid by government departments and agencies only after fulfilling being satisfied that all the goods and services are in delivered as required in the government tender documents. In recent times, procurement has been reported as the most vulnerable area being eaten with corruption as government spends close to 33% of its total budget on procurement. Buying of vehicles for use by government departments and public institutions is increasingly becoming a favourite practice in the country. According to well informed sources, such vehicle purchases provide the easiest and most secret way of getting kickbacks from suppliers. For every number of units provided, the supplier normally gives a number of units to those directly involved in placing orders. It is said that those involved in the business of placing orders to vehicle suppliers nowadays prefer cash to vehicles when it comes to the provision of ten percent commissions. Such officials direct vehicle suppliers to deposit their commissions in their foreign bank accounts. Tanzanian officials have in fact progressed so far, as far as placements of orders is concerned, that they ensure constant receipt of their commissions year in, year out by entering vehicle supplies annual contracts! What this means is that the Tanzanian government is tied, through such a contract, to place order for the supply of a given number of units every year! The implication of this is that failure on the part of the Tanzanian government to adhere to the contract would attract a very heavy penalty from the supplier! In recent times, TANESCO has become notorious for fomenting and conjuring some of the most controversial corruption scandals ever recorded in Tanzanias history. Some of the scandals that have rocked the firm include; the IPTL scandal, Power Transformers purchase scandal and the now infamous Richmond cum Dowans scandal which led to resignation of the Prime Minister Mr Edward Lowassa and the entire cabinet. The implication of this is that failure on the part of the Tanzanian government to adhere to the contract would attract a very heavy penalty from the supplier! In recent times, TANESCO has become notorious for fomenting and conjuring some of the most controversial corruption scandals ever recorded in Tanzanias history. Some of the scandals that have rocked the firm include; the IPTL scandal, Power Transformers purchase scandal and the now infamous Richmond cum Dowans scandal which led to resignation of the Prime Minister Mr Edward Lowassa and the entire cabinet.

Thread starter ramson34
Start date Mar 31, 2010

ramson34

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Another Corruption scandal brewing at TANESCO.

ramson34

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