Politics and policy
By FUMBUKA NG'WANAKILALA
In Summary
- Kikwete dismissed Anna Tibaijuka, minister of lands, housing and human settlements development, for accepting a $1 million payment.
- The money was not paid directly to the school and was instead deposited in a personal bank account in her name, Kikwete explained.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete fired a senior
cabinet minister on Monday over a graft scandal in the energy sector
that has already led to the resignation of the country’s attorney
general.
Kikwete said he had dismissed Anna
Tibaijuka, minister of lands, housing and human settlements development,
for accepting a $1 million payment from a Tanzanian businessman (James
Rugemalira) linked to a controversial energy deal.
Tibaijuka, 64, a former
under-secretary-general of the United Nations and executive director of
the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), had rejected calls for
her resignation from parliament, saying the money was a donation for a
school where she serves as the main fundraiser.
“There were ethical shortfalls in
her conduct… that is why we agreed to ask the minister to give us the
opportunity to appoint someone else in her position,” Kikwete said in a
national address late on Monday.
“One of the biggest questions
raised is why this money was not paid directly to the school and was
instead deposited in a personal bank account in her name.”
Tibaijuka said she had received the donation in good faith and presented it to the school.
The Tanzanian president said the
government was still investigating allegations of impropriety against
the country’s energy minister and his permanent secretary and would make
a decision on their fate after the conclusion of the probe.
Tanzania’s parliament last month
called for the dismissal of senior officials, including the lands and
energy ministers, over graft accusations.
Attorney General Frederick Werema
resigned on December 17, becoming the first political casualty in the
scandal that has led Western donors to delay aid and weakened the
country’s currency.
The attorney general denied any
wrongdoing and said he was stepping down because his legal advice on the
transfer of at least $122 million of public funds to a private company
was misunderstood.
The funds came from an escrow
account held jointly by state power company TANESCO and independent
power producer IPTL and went to IPTL’s owner, Pan Africa Power (PAP) in
2013.
Kikwete on Monday defended the
transfer of funds, saying there was no wrongdoing by government
officials in the deal and PAP said the payment was legal.
A group of 12 international
donors have said they will only pay outstanding pledges of budget
support worth nearly $500 million to aid-reliant Tanzania if the report
of the graft investigation is published and appropriate action is taken.
-- Reuters
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