Will EPA thieves, this time, be brought to book?

Sunday 6 July, 2008 almost all media echoed the call by the ambassador of the United States to Tanzania Mark Green.


Without mincing words, the emissary weighed in advising the authorities to come clean and bring to books all those behind EPA scam. He wants Kikwete to be tough at the toff not to be a tuff for them.

Notably, this is not the first time the foreign emissary has ringed the bell. Others have already seen the danger our nation is in so as to openly warn. Among others, these are ambassadors from Belgium, Germany, Britain and now America.

Time and again, President Jakaya Kikwete who seems to be indifferent has been given a hand in tackling this cancerous habit of stealing from public offices. Befuddled, however, are those who bother to follow his reciprocation in such circumstance. Will this repeat? Shall it; what will donors do?


Marred with political syncretism, favouritism and technical know who, the current regime has stockpiled many scandals. It can go to annals as the most-implicated-in-corruption one thanks to what we are witnessing.


Frankly speaking this is a shame to the nation in the first place. Why should foreigners speak for our people? The answer is simple. When you have MPs that can tantalizingly and shamelessly stand in the house and strongly defend those implicated what do you expect? With such unscrupulous and nugatory representatives, the ambassador has come out at the right time.

The good thing about donors is that, they’re the same that donate this money so stolen. Time and again, they’ve generously been helping so as to revamp our economy and people’s lives. True, shall the truth been told, our economy is swamping and the conditions of our people are badly in bad shape.


Their warning, if clearly been underscored, means that one time they’ll stop wasting their taxpayers’ money. Yes. Had they kept mum, indeed they’d have proved failure for their countries and our people.

Naturally, nature does not allow vacuum. So the oddity and uppity of our regime, if anything, do force them to do what they are doing.

Today, our people are desperate and discouraged by the regime they thought would emancipate them. Should we blame this on Kikwete alone or even on the citizens who have indifferently decided to stay side and look?

What should they do? Currently in the neighbouring Kenya there are demonstrations and agitations demanding the exit of the minister for finance, Amos Kimunya who is accused of illegally and covertly selling Grand Regency hotel. This hotel stole the show after it came to light that the architect of grand corruption that neared deluging Kenya economically, Kamlesh Pattni is the owner. After Mwai Kibaki came and in, he formed a Justice Samuel Bosire’s commission to look into the matter. With water tight evidence, the commission ruled that there was corruption in the acquisition of the same. The story is long.

Now that it is an open secret EPA and Richmond scams involve the high and mighty. This freakish regime, for reasons known to everybody, has become tardy in handling the matter.

EPA’s star witness-cum-architect, Daudi Ballali is no more. We’re told he was killed in order to conceal the names of those involved. To add insults to injuries the government's maintained its obscurantism on forming a commission to probe his death. What does this really mean? Will the authorities and those behind the scam succeed in jumping this smoking gun?

In spite of the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi standing tall to see corruption is rooted out, under its powerful NEC, it recently exonerated some of those implicated in some scams. Tell it. What it did is itself a crime. Party supremos will sing small.



For well over a year now, tirelessly, media and opposition have tried to pin down the authorities to come clean. There have been silence and docility by the general public that seems unconcerned with all this theft and mismanagement! This is ridiculous. One would think the people being the victims and the owner of the money so filched would act.

To cut the story short let’s urge Kikwete to take a note as we strongly warn the general public that if it’ll keep on its current sheepish stance, chances are our country will go to thieves.

For donors, time for warning is over. Shall those concerned keep their dimwit and indifference; there is the most right thing to. Stop giving them money for gang-stealing.

Time is ripe and right enough for EPA and Richmond thieves to be brought to books.
Today’s wisdom is "Verbum Sapienti Satis": a word to the wise is enough.
Source: Thisday July 8, 2008.