Mbowe: I have already repaid 80m/-, but Lissu's concerns ignored
Employment minister, Gaudentia Kabaka
They were responding to charges by Tundu Lissu (Singida East-Chadema) who said that the Local Authority Pensions Fund (LAPF) favoured CCM MPs in allocating loans.
Without revealing the names, Kabaka told the house that there are some MPs who owe the social security funds and have not made efforts to repay.
The minister of State Prime Minister’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government, Hawa Ghasia called on Lissu to show proof of his claims of CCM MPs being favoured, adding that among long standing debtors was the leader of the Official Opposition in the Parliament Freeman Mbowe (Hai-Chadema).
For his part, Finance deputy minister, Mwigulu Nchemba, said that Mbowe is among the MPs who received over 1bn/- from LAPF as a personal loan.
The deputy minister asked the deputy Speaker to take measures against the leader of opposition.
Nchemba told the house that a warrant of arrest was being processed in a bid to recover long standing debt.
Earlier on, Lissu also claimed that the Parliament is there to monitor the government and its institutions and therefore it is awkward for the MPs to be given loans by the government institutions.
According to Lissu, the MPs will compromise their role to monitor the government if they enter into loan agreements with the public institutions.
He called on Parliament to form a Parliamentary Committee to probe the use of funds in the government corporations.
He complained that worker’s funds in the LAPF are used to buy unnecessary things such as sports facilities for Chato constituency and printers and computers for the ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Corporation which has its own budget.
Responding to the claims in Parliament, Mbowe said he is a shareholder in one of his companies which borrowed 15m/- some years ago.
“I am one of the shareholders in one of the companies which borrowed 15m/- from NPF (now NSSF) some 25 years ago and the loan has already been repaid except for the interest which you are estimating and which the government miscalculated. However, I have so far paid more than 80m/- as loan plus interest…you are using pension funds to tarnish the image of other people instead of concentrating on important issues,” said Mbowe.
According to Mbowe, Cabinet ministers have so far failed to respond to basic questions raised by Lissu who named some of the ministers and MPs, who he said are known for begging from pension funds.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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