Revealed: Air Tanzania cargo plane invoice was inflated by $49 million

 

By Paul Owere

Web Editor Mwananchi Communications Ltd

Summary

·         The last installment for the manufacture of the plane was $37 million; however, a $86 million invoice was submitted for payment. 

The latest Controller and Auditor General (CAG) report has revealed an anomaly in the pricing of the

new Air Tanzania cargo plane that is expected to be delivered in April 2023.

According to the 2021-2022 report, the details of which were read by President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Wednesday March 29, the last installment for the manufacture of the plane was $37 million; however, a $86 million invoice was submitted for payment.

"Where did this invoice come from? What did the contract say?" the president asked.

"And when you received the invoice, you still presented it to the government for payment. Stupid, what step did you take after you received the invoice? When you look at it critically, you will notice that the price hike is something that started internally," Samia lashed out, and then proceeded to state that the nation cannot be governed in such a manner.

She ordered all those implicated in the shoddy deal to defraud the state to resign from their positions; she, however, did not mention the said individuals who were involved in the manipulation of the system.

The cargo plane was spotted at the Boeing Everett factory in Washington, D.C., in the United States, with registration number 5H-TCO.

The plane is among four Boeing planes that were ordered by the Tanzanian government in 2021 at a reported total cost of $726 million, including a 787-8 Dreamliner and two 737 MAX jets.

According to reports, the national carrier's first dedicated cargo plane will be based at Kilimanjaro International Airport, which will become a strategic hub for cargo operations in Tanzania.