Adeladius Makwega – MBAGALA
In 2002, the Government of Tanzania dissolved the Dar es Salaam City Council and established what was called the Dar es Salaam City Commission after realizing that things were not going well. During this period, a great deal of work was done by the City Commission, which was led by Comrade Charles Keenja.
A clear example is the construction of Benjamin William Mkapa Secondary School (BMW Secondary School) in the city. This was the first large secondary school to be built in Dar es Salaam Region using internally generated revenue from the people of Dar es Salaam since independence.
For my fellow residents of Dar es Salaam, and even for those who do not know this area well, let me explain the following:
“The area where BMW Secondary School is located used to be open sports grounds for Uhuru Girls Primary School and Uhuru Mixed Primary School, and it was also used by Uhuru School for the Blind.
In the past, even Simba Sports Club used to train there, and even our friends from the muddy pitches—Young Africans (Yanga)—used these grounds near Uhuru Mixed Primary School whenever Kaunda Stadium in Jangwani was flooded.”
Our Third Phase President, Benjamin William Mkapa, together with his Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye, did a very good job by dissolving the Dar es Salaam City Council. This action revealed the true state of affairs within local government authorities.
“Two young government employees were sitting and talking. One said, ‘We receive office operational funds of almost 8 million shillings per month. This money comes every month, but when you calculate how it is spent, it is confusing. First you are told this is for research, this is for this, that is for that. We junior staff get very little. When you add it all up, the boss ends up getting almost five million shillings, and this happens every single month.’ ‘If you want to see that there is trickery involved, even when the boss goes on leave, he cannot leave until the operational funds are distributed. And when he returns, he must find that the operational funds have not yet been distributed so that he can distribute them himself. If this money were distributed properly and without trickery, he would allow others to distribute it, not insist on doing it himself every time.’”
Another participant added,
“You know, this is why the Fifth Phase President, the late John Pombe Magufuli, used to withhold operational funds from some public institutions. He knew there was trickery involved. That old man was right—he was right.”
Yet another participant said,
“I do not agree with the idea of not disbursing funds to institutions. The most important thing is for those given responsibilities to fulfill their duties.For example, Region A receives 200 million shillings per month for office operations. Once the funds are received, the Budget Committee sits to discuss the funds that have been received. This Budget Committee includes budget officers of the institution concerned as well as heads of units and sections. Before discussing the newly received operational funds, they must first discuss how the funds received in the previous month were used—item by item. If there were any discrepancies, what were they, and what solutions were taken? Only then do they move on to discuss the funds received for the current month. This meeting must have minutes, meaning there must be a file containing these monthly minutes. In this way, complaints that someone is allocating more funds to himself or favoring himself will be addressed within one month, and the person concerned will be disciplined. That problem will not recur.”
Remember, these people were just talking.
The last speaker added this:
“In many institutions there is a person called an Internal Auditor. He must be very careful and not someone driven by personal interests. The auditor can ask: Does the Budget Committee meet every month? If it meets, what does it discuss? If it does not meet, why not? If this committee does not meet, it means the game is being played by one person alone. Are the operational funds for each unit and section being used according to the work plan? The Internal Auditor can ask: Do unit and section meetings take place? What are the employees’ complaints? In the meeting of month A, what did employees complain about—perhaps issues of operational fund allocation? In month B, the same complaint appears again. If it is recorded in the minutes, it must be acted upon. But if meetings are not held and the Internal Auditor is present, then the problem lies with the Internal Auditor himself.”
This discussion was very good, as these Tanzanians were talking about their government and the best way to manage public affairs. Mwanakwetu decided to take these views as they were and present them in this article.
What does Mwanakwetu say today?
In truth, the system for running government affairs is very good; the challenge lies with us human beings. The most important thing is for everyone to know that the government is you, me, and that other person. When one person puts personal interests first, the entire government bears the burden. Everyone working in government should reflect on this. For senior officials in institutions, it is important to know how operational funds for units and sections are being used. It is important for meetings to be held and minutes recorded, and if there are complaints, they should be addressed. At the same time, Internal Auditors must fulfill their responsibilities. For example, at the regional level, Internal Auditors oversee councils under them, which have many people. If, at the regional level, an auditor’s own units or sections do not hold monthly staff meetings, what do you think the situation will be like at the council level, the division level, the ward level, the village level, and the hamlet level?
“Public servants at the regional level, especially heads of units and sections, should not stay in one station for too long. If such rotations are implemented, they will help institutions work with different people, with different skills, exchange capacities, and reduce weaknesses.
You may find a public servant who has stayed in one place for so long that wasps are building nests in his office and he does not notice— the whole room is full of wasps and he does not see them. A vigilant Internal Auditor must know even when termites are about to start building in his office, so that he can control the office and keep it safe, just as it was during the Dar es Salaam City Commission in the era of Mzee Mkapa. The goal is to ensure that Tanzanians are not eaten by wasps.”
Mwanakwetu, are you there? Remember:
“Public Servants Should Not Be Eaten by Wasps.”
I wish you a good day.
makwadeladius@gmail.com
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649 257
NB THIS ARTICLE IS A GIFT TO THE MINISTER OF TAMISEMI, PROFESSOR RIZIKI SHEMDOE
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