GOLDEN JUBILEE: President John Magufuli
addresses the gathering when he graced the climax of celebrations to
mark the 50th anniversary of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) in Dar es
Salaam. (Photo by State House)
Dr Magufuli said the decision to halt
employment in the public service was temporary, assuring those aspiring
to secure jobs in the next financial year to wait for at least two
months so that the government could accomplish its exercise to weed out
ghost workers.
The head of state, who was speaking at
the climax of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the
establishment of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), gave the clarification,
shocking job seekers, who were waiting for jobs up for grabs in the
public sector - as members of the trade unions called for suspension of
the decision.
“I decided that we should end
contradictions because as the government was struggling to clear
non-existent workers, the public service continued recruiting new
staff,’’ he said, adding:
“You are struggling to eliminate phantom
workers in the payroll, while at the same time another person is
employing new people, which make it even difficult to realise if those
who are currently being employed are also ghost workers.’’
Dr Magufuli said after realising that
there were some mistakes committed, it was always good to correct them
before moving forward, although, he noted, he was aware that there were
some people who were asking themselves why there were no new jobs.
Public Service Management Permanent
Secretary (PS) Laurean Ndumbaro issued a circular on June 13 that
directed all permanent secretaries, heads of departments, directors,
heads of government institutions and chief executive officers of
government agencies to freeze new employments as well as stop all salary
increments to public servants.
The circular further directed that all
permits for sabbatical leaves should be revoked and that transfer of
public servants to other offices by awarding them huge salaries that
they were receiving in their previous offices should also be halted.
Dr Magufuli asked senior BoT officials
and the Treasury to supervise all financial institutions by collecting
revenues in all transactions made, including mobile phone money
transfers. “Statistics indicate that in March alone, the transactions
that were made by telecoms companies stood at 5.5 trillion/- while the
amount of tax remitted to state coffers is unknown,’’ he said.
At the ceremony that was held at the BoT
Hall, the president launched two books that contains details on finance
and economy. The ceremony coincided with a symposium to discuss the
presentation on how to get money for various development projects and
the issues of soft loans and grants by Professor Justin Lin of Beijing
University in China.
Apart from proper collection of
government revenue, the government directed BoT and the Treasury to put
measures in place that would ensure that the revenue assurance system
was working.
Dr Magufuli further asked senior
officials to ensure that they supervise tax collection in mining
companies as well as ensuring that they seal loop holes for tax evasion.
“There have been instances where a
mining company operates in the country for 10 years but still its
officials are telling you that they don’t make any profit … if that is
the case, they better go back to their countries,’’ he stated.
The president said it was better to stay
with the country’s precious gems even for a thousand years, insisting
that it was not a sin to leave the pits for the next generation. On
pension, the head of state asked officials in the financial sector to
ensure that they deal with ghost pension beneficiaries in the public
service.
“I understand that there are 2,800 guest
workers, who were paid pensions through NMB Bank amounting to 7bn/-,
said Dr Magufuli, directing officials to ensure that the money was
recovered.
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