Wrong beneficiaries pocket Tasaf money

The Minister of State, President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government, Mr George Simbachawene, told journalists here yesterday that the officials should be suspended to give way to investigation over the allegations.

He said that the regional and district commissioners as well as executive directors at local authorities should oversee the implementation of the directives and ensure that the money paid to unqualified households is paid back to allow the government to accomplish its mission of eradicating poverty.

"You should oversee the implementation of these directives and submit the report to the government within 14 days from today," he said.

Mr Simbachawene added that, the government will not tolerate any person who was involved in registering and paying unqualified beneficiaries because the act has affected its efforts of helping poor households to improve their livelihoods.

He further said that in the past six months a total of 11,370 unqualified households were paid money under the TASAF programme.

Dar es Salaam Region is leading by having 2,929 unqualified beneficiaries followed by Kilimanjaro with 1,484, Morogoro 793 and Dodoma 482. Minister Simbachawene, however, could not disclose the amount of money which has been so far paid to unqualified households as the respective authorities were still working to establish it.

Meanwhile, the minister also challenged the local authorities in the country to ensure that they build capacity to its executives by allowing them to undergo training at the Local Government Training Institute (LGTI) at Hombolo to acquire appropriate skills of running local government activities.

He was speaking during the 8th graduation ceremony at LGTI where he presented certificates and diplomas to 1,175 graduates in various courses.

Mr Simbachawene noted that, the government spends 8.5bn/- annually to administer issues at LGTI Hombolo, but the rate of students enrolled at the institute was not impressing - a situation that contributes to inefficiency at local authorities.

“This institute is very crucial for local government executives to sharpen their skills, you should allow your officials to come and study at this college,” Mr Simbachawene said.

The chairman of board of trustees for LGTI Hombolo, Prof Suleiman Ngware, from the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) said, plans were underway to improve the quality of education offered at the institute.

Statistics released by TASAF in August, this year, showed that at least 32,456 households across the country have been struck off the list of vulnerable families to benefit from the TASAF grants.

TASAF Executive Director Ladislaus Mwamanga said that a verification exercise conducted in both the Mainland and in Zanzibar revealed that many households receiving grants through Tasaf did not deserve the support.

“We scrutinised the list handed over to us by local authorities and found out that 32,456 families did not qualify as they are not living in extreme poverty,” said Mr Mwananga. He said TASAF officials would continue to scrutinise beneficiaries to ensure the most disadvantaged are not sidelined.

More than one million vulnerable families are expected to benefit from the implementation of TASAF phase III.

Source: Daily News