Probe Natural Resources scam - Kilango
By Polycarp Machira

11th July 2009

The government has come under fresh criticism over corruption allegations in the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, with a call for a probe by a parliamentary committee.



Same East Member of Parliament Anne Kilango Malecela yesterday accused the ministry officials of involvement in the smuggling of two containers of elephant tusks that were recently seized in Vietnam.



Debating the ministry’s 2009/10 budget estimates, the legislator told the National Assembly here that she would invoke Parliamentary Rule 117 (2) (b) allowing her to move a private motion, seeking formation of a special select committee to investigate the matter so that those found to have been involved in the vice face the law.



She said: “The president frequently travels out of the country ‘begging’ for financial support, while our money is just lying in Vietnam. We do not want these people to tarnish the image of our government and the ruling party, CCM.”



The outspoken MP said it was surprising that theft of natural resources, more so elephant tusks was done openly as if there were no government officials responsible for combating such activities.



According to Kilango, her investigations showed that the tusks were smuggled out through the Dar es Salaam Port, using two containers which the consignee declared contained recycled plastic materials. They were physically inspected and cleared for shipping out.



She told the House that when the Vietnamese authority opened the containers they discovered that the goods declared were not waste products, but ivory that were stolen from Tanzania. She added that the government should thank the Vietnamese authorities for revealing the matter.



She expressed concern in the way the ministry officials were executing their duties and their failure to protect the country’s natural resources.



She said the seized containers were still in Vietnam, while the authorities were still negotiating. “This is a serious matter. We need an explanation from the minister,” the MP said.



The Speaker of the National Assembly Samuel Sitta in response to Kilango’s suggestion that a select committee be formed, said the decision would depend on the response from the minister.



She called on the government to closely monitor foreign trade saying some countries benefit a lot from illegal importation of Tanzanian natural resources.



Meanwhile, Aloyce Kimaro (Vunjo, CCM) while debating the Natural Resources and Tourism ministry estimates blamed the government’s decision to lower concession fees from USD 25 to 10 without giving any convincing reasons.



He said the move had reduced the amount that Tanzania’s national parks collected each year from USD 30m to only USD 5.5m. Kimaro demanded that the ministry reverse its decision in the national interest.



He also challenged the ministry to take deliberate steps to empower Tanzanians by giving them priority in investments in the tourist sector and access to soft loans to enable them build tourist facilities. He pointed out that 99 per cent of available hotels were owned by foreigners.



Philemon Ndesamburo (Moshi Urban, Chadema) challenged the ministry to draw up strategies to increase revenue generation in the tourist sector and lamented on high fees for tourists not only when entering national parks but also in tourist hotels.



Earlier, when tabling the budget estimates for her ministry for the 2009/10 financial year, minister Mwangunga told Parliament that the government lost over 15bn/- in revenue from the wildlife department in the 2008/2009 financial year.

She said while the ministry expected to contribute 29,165,453, 000/- to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the last fiscal year, only 14, 173, 776,768/- was realised.



Mwangunga pointed out that the global financial crisis caused the decline in the ministry’s contribution to the GDP.

"The government has generated a total of USD 1.315 billion from the tourism sector following the increase of tourist arrivals in the country," said Mwangunga.



She said the number of tourists increased from 615,724 in 2005 to 770,376 last year, adding that in 2005 revenue collected from the sector was USD 822 million only.



She asked the House to approve a total of 70,803,337,000 for both recurrent and development expenditures.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Kilango: Why I will stop tourism budget


By Samuel Kamndaya, Dodoma

The saga of the huge consignment of elephant tusks smuggled from Tanzania to Vietnam in March arose in the National Assembly yesterday, with Same East MP Anne Kilango-Malecela vowing to block the tourism ministry's budget unless a parliamentary team is formed to investigate it.

The outspoken Chama Cha Mapinduzi lawmaker demanded the setting up of a special parliamentary committee to look into the matter, saying she had established that the owner of the illicit cargo was a ruling party official.

She put the minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Ms Shamsa Mwangunga, on notice over the ministry's 2009/10 budget, saying the issue of the smuggled tusks deserved a thorough investigation.

"Mr Speaker, I will not endorse the ministry�s budget estimates until I get your directive on the formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate the incident in accordance with Parliamentary Standing Order 117," said Mrs Malecela. The Speaker agreed that the issue be discussed as soon as minister Mwangunga responds to the MPs� concerns.

Mrs Malecela was speaking about the elephant tusks worth nearly $10.5 million (about Sh15 billion) believed to be from Tanzania, and which were seized in Vietnam last March.

According to media reports then, the seven tons of tusks were discovered by Vietnam's Hai Phong Port officials concealed in hundreds of boxes of plastic waste in a container that had originated from Tanzania via Malaysia.

The Vietnamese officials were acting on a tip-off about the smuggling of more than 200 pairs of elephant tusks.

The company, which had ordered the shipment that had been held at the port for days, was identified through the ship waybill but a police follow-up established that its director had fled.

Earlier in Parliament yesterday, Ms Mwangunga had presented her ministry's financial estimates, urging the House to endorse her Sh70.83 billion request for recurrent and development expenditure.

Mrs Malecela said that while the consignment went through Dar es Salaam Port under one consignee, the Vietnamese authorities later established that they were two.

Suspicious Vietnamese authorities then ordered an inspection of what had been been declared to be recycled waste plastic materials and instead found the tusks.

Yesterday, the Same East MP said she had closely followed the matter since it was reported last March, and had even established the consignee's name.

"I have investigated and now know who is it was," she said, but declined to name the CCM cadre allegedly involved in the smuggling ring.

"We do not need leaders who tarnish the good name of our party. I have the file with all the information on the issue. It's astonishing that the ministry has failed to monitor such activities," she said.

Quoting chapter 16 in the Book of Exodus in the Bible, the MP said God gave Tanzanians abundant natural resources "just as he did to the Israelites when he led them from Egypt to Canaan".

However, Mrs Malecela added, the country remained poor, and to blame were the officials who became greedy after being entrusted with managing the wealth on behalf of fellow Tanzanians.

"It's a pity that our President visits various countries in search of investors and aid while a few corrupt fellows are feeding on the resources that could be benefit the nation.

This is not fair," she said. Although Vietnam banned ivory trade in 1992, shops are still allowed to sell items acquired before the ban, creating a loophole, which the smugglers exploit.

An official from Vietnam�s Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Mr Dang Tat The, confirmed after the seizure of the consignment that the tusks were from African elephants of various ages.

The waybill on the ship at the Hai Phong Port had indicated that the cargo comprised plastic scrap for recycling, but Customs inspectors found that outside the container.

Vietnamese officials described the shipment as "the biggest ivory haul ever in Vietnam." The Vietnamese officials believed the tusks were being shipped to China.

But in Dar es Salaam, the Director of Criminal Investigations, Mr Robert Manumba, told the media then that police are not aware of the seized tusks haul, believed to be from Tanzania, but promised to counter-check with his Vietnamese counterpart.

Last month, six Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) officials were arrested on suspicion of involvement in a multi-million dollar organised crime network, which was allegedly behind the smuggling of large numbers of elephant tusks through Dar es Salaam Port.

Sources said the suspects, mainly from the Customs Department, had abetted the smuggling after receiving bribes.

The six were reportedly arrested in connection with the smuggling of the elephant tusks impounded in Vietnam. Tourism minister Mwangunga confirmed the arrest of the Customs officials for allegedly processing the export documents for the illegal consignment.