Tanzania’s new president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, on Sunday ordered the suspension of the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Director-General Deusdedit Kakoko over alleged embezzlement of 3.6 billion shillings ($1.5 million), continuing her late predecessor’s anti-graft hard line stance.
Observers have been keen to see signs of policy direction from Hassan, who was sworn in on March 19 after John Magufuli died, and whose soft-spoken, consensus-seeking personality contrasts with his brash populism and authoritarianism.
Firm Stance on Corruption
Speaking in the political capital Dodoma after receiving a government audit report, Hassan signaled that, in respect of corruption at least, she would follow his tough line.
“I would like to assure you that I will be very firm in the collection and expenditure of public funds,” she said. “I will also stand firm against all corrupt practices.”
The president noted that she has seen massive embezzlement of funds at the Tanzania Ports Authority and directed the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) take up the matter urgently.
The report called for an investigation into the apparent disappearance of 3.6 billion shillings ($1.56 million) from the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), headed by Deusdedit Kakoko.
“I would like to order the suspension of the director general of the port authority to pave a way for the investigation.”
Special Audit Request
She has also asked the auditor general and a state anti-corruption agency to conduct a special audit of funds disbursed to development projects this year.
Hassan had been Magufuli’s vice president before he died.
She is Tanzania’s first female head of state and is expected to complete Magufuli’s five-year term, which started last November
TPA in The Spotlight
The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) has been in the spotlight previously over corruption concerns, leading to suspension of top finance managers in December 2020.
The operation was led by the Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa.
They were accused of depriving Tanzanian government of revenues through an unapproved tax exemption amounting to two billion shillings ($860,00).
In addition, financial misappropriation at Kigoma Port further exposed the rot in TPA, which had shown a steady increase in revenue – but 30 percent of it remained in people’s pockets.
Replacing Mombasa as East Africa’s Gateway
Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania is the Mombasa Port’s chief competitor, seeking to replace it as East Africa’s gateway.
Through the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway project (DSMGP), financed by a $345 million World Bank grant and expected to be complete by 2024, TPA has proposed a raft of measures aimed at improving efficiencies at the Port of Dar es Salaam.
Unfortunately, even with elaborate plans to modernize African ports – mostly through debts from multilateral financiers and China – the scourge of corruption continues to threaten the expected benefits from these major infrastructure developments.