Roads fund board demands Sh200bn

“As we meet today, the fund has not received collections this financial year,” Chairman of the Board, Dr James Wanyancha 

By Patty Magubira, The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

• Board chairman Dr Wanyancha said that although the fund was supposed to receive the collections every month from the ministry, it last received them in May

Arusha. Roads Fund Board yesterday asked Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda to intervene in the delay of collections deposited in its bank account by the ministry of Finance.

The chairman of the Board, Dr James Wanyancha, said that although the fund was supposed to receive the collections every month from the ministry, it last received them in May this year.

“As we meet today, the fund has not received collections this financial year,” Dr Wanyancha told Mr Pinda shortly after the Premier opened the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Stakeholders of the Local Government Authorities’ roads.

The five-day meeting being held at Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge here attracts 900 participants including 24 regional commissioners, 25 regional administrative secretaries, 133 district commissioners and 168 mayors and district council chairpersons.

In attendance also are 168 local authorities’ engineers, and 224 officials from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, the Planning Commission, Engineers Registration Board, Contractors Registration Board, and the Controller and Auditor General.

Dr Wanyancha said by June 30, 2014, although the taxman collected over Sh744 billion, the fund received barely Sh503 billion.

The late disbursement of the collections led to the failure of road maintenance, particularly tarmac and rural ones, he said.

“This challenge also frustrates the capacity of local authorities in road construction and maintenance,” added Dr Wanyancha, pleading with the Premier to find a lasting solution for it.

In another development, Dr Wanyancha said it was high time the government established three agencies, namely Dar es Salaam Roads Agency, Urban Roads Agency, and Rural Roads Agency.

Experience from Ethiopia and Kenya indicated that the proposal, which had been regularly surfacing in Parliament, was feasible, as such agencies were operating efficiently in those countries.

Mr Pinda said Tanzania needed a reliable road network in production areas mostly rural areas, but observed that collections accrued from oil imported into the country were insufficient.

He urged local authorities to make good use of the little collections meant for the construction and maintenance of the roads by applying preventive auditing and curbing malpractices