No Bunge powers usurped - AG

FAUSTINE KAPAMA in Dodoma

THE Attorney General (AG), Mr George Masaju, has described as baseless claims by the opposition camp that the Fifth Phase Government under President John Magufuli is operating unconstitutionally and was usurping parliamentary privileges and powers.

Reacting to claims by Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Mr Freeman Mbowe, and Leader of ACT-Wazalendo, Mr Zitto Kabwe, the AG said the President had not violated any law. “He formed his cabinet under the law and is operating according to the Constitution of United Republic of Tanzania and Policy of the ruling party, CCM”, the AG argued.

Mr Masaju was debating budget estimates of the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday evening, stressing that under the Ministers Discharge of Ministerial Functions Act 1980, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania enjoys discretionary powers to form his cabinet.

When discharging such functions, the AG said, the president is required to provide what he termed as “Instrument” to enable members of the cabinet perform their duties depending on allocation of ministries concerned.

“We have witnessed that after the president formed his cabinet, ministers have continued to perform their respective functions without interfering to each other. I don’t see any reason for one to come up with claims that the president has violated the constitution,” Mr Masaju said.

Last week, Members of Parliament from the opposition camp walked out of the debating chamber, alleging that they would not contribute in the ongoing budget session, citing three legal issues that needed to be addressed first before offering their participation.

Mr Mbowe said that the first major issue involved the formation of ministries of which he claimed that under the Ministers constitution books which the CAG flawed due to non-compliance with procurement laws.

Apart from that, 150,003 copies of the proposed constitution books were yet to be issued to targeted beneficiaries for the purpose of public awareness on the referendum for the proposed constitution.

“Results of my audit also indicate that some ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) did not manage well the contracts entered between them and various contractors’’, said the CAG, Professor Mussa Assad, when unveiling his annual report on Monday.

The weakness, according to him, contributed to the late completion of some of the projects -- and sometimes substandard performance.

In this category, it includes delayed completion of construction works at the then Ministry for Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) and rehabilitation of chancery buildings at the Tanzania embassies in Maputo and New York.

The CAG report also revealed notable weaknesses by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) during the procurement audits of MDAs. At the then Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the CAG found out that the ministry did not sign contracts for all the procurement activities on behalf of the procurement entity pursuant to section 36(h) of the Public Procurement Act (PPA), 2011.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) did not properly aggregate the procurement requirements in the (Annual Procurement Plan (APP) as per the requirement of section 49 of PPA.

In the Vice-President’s Office (VPO), 12 tenders out of 17 planned for procurement during the financial year 2014/15 were not implemented as per the requirement of the law.

The CAG also found out that at the Public Service Recruitment Secretariat, the Accounting Officer (AO) did not issue notice of intension to award contracts to all bidders for the tenders.

At the then Ministry of East African Cooperation, tenders for internet and email connection did not follow procurement procedure. Instead, the single source procurement method was used.

The report found out the contract was prepared by the service provider instead of the procurement entity.

On the area of procurement, the report recommends that the management of the audited MDAs and Regional Secretariat (RS) should ensure that they fully observe the requirements of procurement laws, specifically on the preparation and implementation of Annual Procurement Plans (APPs).

The CAG also suggests that approval of procurements by tender boards is paramount as well as inspection, acceptance of goods and services made as well as effecting procurements from approved suppliers.