FBME Bank resurfaces in Parliament over payments

A man walks past the FBME Bank in Dar es Salaam yesterday. BoT has taken over the bank management. PHOTO | SALIM SHAO

By Noor Shija

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Dodoma. Special Seats MP (CCM, Zanzibar) Asha Abdalla Juma yesterday revived in Parliament the

issue of the defunct FBME Bank, naming customers of the lender who died without being paid their money held by the bank, including former Zanzibar Government Deputy Chief Minister Ali Juma Shamhuna.

Ms Aabdalla - popular as ‘Mshua’ - made the statement when contributing to the national budget debate for the 2021/2022 financial year.

She said since the bank’s licence for doing business in the country was revoked by the Bank of Tanzania, four years and one month had now elapsed without the clients and workers getting their rights. “Since May 8, 2017, the bank has been under insolvency.

“There appears to be no solution to this issue, the customers of this bank have not been paid their deposits. Despite having huge deposits - such as Sh200 million and Sh300 million - they are to be paid only Sh1.5 million, according to the regulation,” ‘Mshua’ said.

She reiterated that some of the bank’s customers died without getting their rights while their families continued to suffer.

The MP stated that, since the closure of the bank, what each of its customers got paid was only Sh1.5 million - and the rest of their deposits have not been paid to them up to now.

“I would like to name some of the victims so that the government and other members of the public could view this matter with its duly weight.

“Some of them are the late Ali Juma Shamhuna, former Deputy Chief Minister; Dr Maliki Abdallah Juma, former director general of the Health ministry; the late Mohamed Tall Suleiman and the late Shaibu,” said Ms Abdalla. The late Sahamhuna, who also served as Zanzibar’s Education minister and Donge Representative, died on May 19, 2019.

Besides those mentioned, the lawmaker said there were other customers, who were still alive and retired, and would need their deposits to make a living.

“I beg your permission, Mr Speaker, to name them. They include Mzee Burhan Saadat Haji (Agriculture, Livestock and Environment minister, who also served as adviser in the Office of retired President Ali Mohamed Shein).

“Others are Dr Mohamed Saleh Jiddawi; Dr Mwanakheri Ahmed Ibrahim and Mwanaidi Saleh, a former permanent secretary at Education ministry.

These people - and many others - have retired and were bank on their deposits to make a living,” the lawmaker stressed.