Utouh adds voice to debate on CAG reports and Parliament
Dar es Salaam. Former Controller and Auditor General (CAG) Ludovick Utouh said yesterday that when it comes to implementing recommendations of the CAG’s office, Tanzania cannot claim to have a strong parliament.
Mr Utouh was speaking to directors of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the city yesterday during a workshop organised by Wajibu Institute of Public Accountability (Wipa) that he leads in partnership with the Foundation for Civil Societies (FCS). The workshop was one among several others that the two organisations have embarked on in efforts to reach out to CSOs and make their officials conversant with the CAG reports, findings and recommendations. The initiative is expected to push for implementation of the CAG recommendations so as to ensure accountability within the government.
“The word ‘weak’ is only meant to give a person an assessment of their performance and room to improve,” Mr Utouh said as he defended his assessment of the National Assembly performance.
He also expressed how bad he felt as a Tanzanian to see the country embroiled in affairs “that I have never witnessed in anywhere else in the world except here in my whole life”.
Mr Utouh was referring to a misunderstanding between Speaker of Parliament Job Ndugai and CAG Mussa Assad earlier in the year.
He said that the issue of ensuring accountability within the government was a collective one, criticising the recent name calling like “the world’s biggest liar” that happened in Parliament targeting CAG Prof Assad.
“It’s not a matter of discretion,” said Mr Utouh of the task of ensuring accountability of government revenues and expenditures. “It’s a matter enshrined in our constitution and that makes it the civic duty of every citizen.”
He thus challenged heads of CSOs to ensure that their organisations pushed for accountability as they had the responsibility and moral duty of supporting public institutions that work for the interests of the people.
Mr Utouh wondered how come some politicians disparaged accountability offices such as the CAG’s while not a single organisation came out publicly to its defence.
“This needs to change,” argued Mr Utouh. “We need to push for thorough implementation of the recommendations made not only by the CAG but also by [the Public Accounts Committee] PAC and [the Local Authority Accounts Committee] Laac.”
FCS executive director Francis Kiwanga supported this argument, pointing out that at the heart of CSOs’ responsibilities was the defence of the larger interests of the public.
He thus said that it made a lot of sense to stand in the defence of accountability institutions.
“But you cannot talk of ensuring accountability if you fail to understand what’s being recommended [in the CAG reports],” he said. “To build this understanding amongst ourselves is key and that’s what brought us here.”
