13 govt officers sidelined over bribery claims

Transport minister Harrison Mwakyembe announces in Dar es Salaam yesterday the banning of 13 government officials from working at the Dar Airport over graft. PHOTO | venance nestory 

By Bernard Lugongo ,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

Tanzania receives hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, with tourism the leading source of foreigners who were nearing a million last year alone.

Dar es Salaam. Transport Minister Harrison Mwakyembe has banned 13 government officials from working at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) over harassing and soliciting bribes from visitors.

 

The officials, whom the minister said would not be allowed to work at any airport in the country, were from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development.

Six of them from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives were Ms Teddy Mwasenga, Esther Kilonzo, Rehema Mrutu, Marry Kadokayosi, Kisamo Samji and Aneth Kilyanga.

The banned five officials from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare were Ms Agnes Shirima, Hamis Bora, Valeli Chuwa, Remedius Kakuya and Eligera Wagase while the other two were Ms Eshi Ndosi and Anne Setebe from the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development. Dr Mwakyembe yesterday told journalists at a packed press conference at the ministry’s headquarters in the city that the officials were captured on security cameras at the JNIA harassing visitors.

The minister said their behaviour was something that damages the image of the country. The minister had apparently ordered secret filming of the arrival and inspection areas of the airport.

“I have taken a decision to remove them from the airport and sent them back to their respective ministries because this is the first time. But others found with the same mistakes will be detained while waiting for disciplinary measures,” he warned.

Dr Mwakyembe said it was disappointing that as the country strives to fight drugs smuggling via the country’s airports and harbours, some officials were engaging in not lesser internal evils that destroy Tanzania’s image to the outside world. Tanzania receives hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, with tourism the leading source of foreigners who were nearing a million last year alone. He said: “We have received complaints from Indians, Arabs and Chinese people that some officials seize foods, cosmetics and other items from visitors and instead of destroying them according to regulations, they confiscate them for personal use and sometimes gave the items back when bribed.”

Following the complaints, Dr Mwakyembe directed the security personnel at the airport to investigate the matter. He said for officials from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare they used to harass the visitors who do not have yellow fever cards. “We established that they receive between $50 and $100 as corruption for those who don’t have such cards,” he said.

“And you may wonder that there is always a long queue at the airport for inspection over yellow fever cards, but if you ask how many have been arrested over lacking those cards, you find no one,” he said.

Last year, Dr Mwakyembe sacked four officials suspected of aiding drug traffickers to smuggle 150 kilos of drugs worth billions of shillings through the JNIA and had their contracts officially terminated.

They were immediately taken into custody at the airport police station for questioning over the trafficking of crystal methamphetamine by two Tanzanian women who were arrested in South Africa.