Utouh reveals how EPA, Jairo took heavy toll on him as CAG

Controller and Auditor General, Ludovick Utouh 

By Samuel Kamndaya, Citizen Business Editor

Posted  Thursday, September 18  2014 at  09:42

IN SUMMARY

I was born in Rombo, Kilimanjaro Region, about 65 years ago. Before becoming CAG in 2006, I was the NBAA (the National Board of Accountants and Auditors) executive director but before that, I was the board’s registrar between 1987 and 1995.

now known as Mzumbe University. Academically, I have schooled in Tanzania, Canada, UK and Swaziland.

What kind of family life do you live?

I am a married man and a father of four children. The first-born is a lady while the other three are gentlemen. They are all grown people.

How do you spend your leisure time?

With such a challenging post, I do not really have time for leisure. I love football but I find no reason why a young man in Tanzania should be a typical fan of English football. I am, however, a classic fan of the Dar es Salaam Young Africans (Yanga).

Now as you retire, what would you say are your major achievements and challenges as the fifth CAG of independent Tanganyika/Tanzania?

It should be recalled that after President Jakaya Kikwete appointed me to be the fifth CAG, I was sworn-in on 19th August 2006. A welcoming party was organised in my honour at the Sheraton (now Serena) Hotel and the distinguished guest was the then chief secretary, Mr Philemon Luhanjo. In his remarks, Mr Luhanjo highlighted three challenges for the CAG’s office.

He said there was little public awareness regarding the office and what it does. Secondly, there was no unity among officers working under the CAG’s office and thirdly, he said reports published by the CAG’s office were not in conformity with required standards.

When I started working, I came to realise that there were some more challenges: The office did not have enough manpower. There was a lack of office space for auditors.

As a result, auditors were permanently accomodated in the offices of the very same institutions that they were required to audit. I also came to realise that the type of auditing that the CAG’s office used to conduct those days was quite outdated. Now as I retire, I am glad to say I have achieved a lot.

With regard to public awareness, even a Standard Two pupil now knows who the CAG is, and what he does.

Similarly, even if you go to the remotest part of this country, the villagers there will tell you who the CAG is and what his responsibilities are. Our work has been recognized internationally. We command respect within the AFROSAI-E (an organisation of national audit offices in the 24 English-speaking African countries).

We take part in auditing organs for both the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc). It was during my tenure that the CAG’s office joined the United Nations Board of Auditors (UNBoA) and became part of the team of experts who audit the UN missions.

Regarding the number of employees, we are now a strong workforce of 940 people – from 420 in 2006, though the CAG’s office needs at least 1,500 employees in total. The quality of our reports has improved greatly.

Regarding office space, as soon as I started working, I sought audience with President Kikwete who noted with concern that it was a mistake for auditors to be permanently housed in office premises of the institutions they audit. The government made a commitment to build two office blocks each year.

To-date, our auditors in Arusha, Shinyanga, Singida, Mbeya, Morogoro, Lindi and Manyara are working from offices that have been built by the government and its development partners. Our auditors in Bukoba, Mwanza, Tabora and Iringa operate from rented premises and now, we are building our headquarters in Dodoma as well as regional offices in Sumbawanga, Iringa and Mara.

So in short you are telling Tanzanians that you are leaving a happy man?

Overall, I am leaving a very happy man though there is one thing that I have not managed to achieve as envisioned: The desire to improve remunerations of employees under the CAG’s office. However, the government has told me that work on this matter is in progress. There is still room for improving our reports and make them user-friendly even to the laymen.

Did any arm of government interfere with your responsibilities during the past eight years?

Seriously, we have done our duties independently during all the past eight years. Neither the Executive nor the Judiciary has ever inferred with my responsibilities.

In fact, all (pillars of the State) – the Executive, the Parliament and the Legislature and even the Media have been very supportive of the CAG’s office during my eight-year tenure. I thank God to have undertaken my responsibilities without prejudice and in good health. In case I angered someone in the process of executing my duties, then I pray that he/she forgives me.Do you think you angered anyone in the process?

Definitely! Auditing is about investigating and you investigate to reveal the truth that has been hidden—intentionally or unintentionally—so it is an open secret that in the process, you will have angered some people. Otherwise, I did that out of public interest.

One of the issues that have been widely discussed in various podia - since the CAG became a household name in Tanzania – was that the office had not been completely independent. How was this handled during your tenure?

The office is protected by the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania under Articles 143 and 144. However, at the time of my appointment, the CAG’s office did not have its own law. Its operations were being governed by the Public Finance Management Act of 2001. It was in 2008 that we came up with the Public Audit Act and one year later, we were able to come up with regulations to operationalise the new Law. The new law gave the CAG’s office more autonomy.

You said no one ever interfered with your operations during the past eight years, but it shows there was a serious misunderstanding between your office and the Parliament over the David Jairo (former Energy and Minerals Permanent Secretary) saga especially when you came up with a clean record over allegations levelled against him. Now that you are retiring, what is your take on that one?

That, along with the Epa audit, is one of the issues that will always remain in my brain. Having done the job, honourable MPs were not happy with what we had done.

However, I still stand by what we wrote in that report and I challenge anyone to come with evidence and show me the law that Jairo broke by collecting the money. That was not the first time that ministries and departments were asked to make contributions.

We make contributions during disasters and in other unforeseen circumstances. Besides, the money that Jairo collected was deposited in the bank account of the Geological Survey of Tanzania (GST) – which is owned by a public entity and which I do audit.

The money did not go into Jairo’s personal account. Moreover, the budget for the Ministry of Energy and Minerals did not go up so that we would say Jairo’s decision contravened with the Parliament’s mandate of approving the budget.

Unfortunately, since my conclusion of the matter did not go in line with their expectations, the honourable MPs wanted me to be fired. In so doing, our honourable MPs, who are required to be the defenders of the Constitution, might have forgotten that they were going against Article 143 (6) of the Mother Law which says that the CAG can only be fired via a court of law.

(The aforementioned Article reads: “In the discharge of his functions in accordance with the provisions of sub-articles (2), (3) and (4) of this Article, the Controller and Auditor-General shall not be obliged to comply with the order or direction of any other person or Government Department, but the provisions of this sub-article shall not preclude a court from exercising jurisdiction to enquire into whether the Controller and Auditor-General has discharged his functions in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution or not”).

I am sure the MPs were not aware of that Constitutional Provision and I thank the President for coming in swiftly to educate the public about the issue.However, that was a serious disappointment on my side. They did not do justice to me and to Mr Luhanjo. This is because the Chief Secretary, being the head of civil service, is the one responsible for taking disciplinary actions against his people.

One of the very serious issues that you handled during your tenure was the swindling of money from the Bank of Tanzania’s external payment arrears account (EPA). What role did you personally, and the entire CAG’s office, play in that issue?

Frankly speaking, by the time I started working here, I had black hair but the stress that came with the Epa assignment is what brought gray hair on my head. It is one of those assignments that I will never forget until I die. The Epa scandal was a do-or-die for Tanzania as a country. Our development partners threatened to stop helping us if nothing was done about the scandal but I thank God that we did a wonderful job.

Out of the stolen Sh133 billion, the government managed to recover Sh66 billion. That was a very great achievement on the government side. In my readings, I understand that theft of public monies happens in many countries but very few can manage to recover any fraction of the stolen amount.

We also have a number of cases going on in courts, thanks to the audit we did which was then augmented by findings of a consultant, Ernest & Young. I am happy with what we did during the Epa scandal but seriously, it was a great torture on my side.

As you leave Mr Utouh, some people would want to you complete and hand in the report of the IPTL/PAP/Escrow Account audit. Shall you be able to do so before you leave?

On IPTL and Escrow, we have so far carried out the job to satisfactory levels but it is yet to be completed and that is one of the major issues that I will hand over to my successor.

The job was huge. It required us to question a lot of people and go through a lot of documents. It also involves travelling of some people to various countries in order to find the truth of what happened.

But so far, where has it reached?

I cannot reveal that because I do not want to destroy the process. What I can say so far is that a lot of work has been done.

Apart from the IPTL/PAP/Escrow Account audit, what else will you leave to your successor?

Tanzania’s CAG will assume the chairmanship of the UN audit board in July next year. Similarly, Tanzania’s CAG will assume the chairmanship of the EAC audit board..Having been CAG, what qualities would you say your successor is required to have?

He/She must be a hardworking person and one who is able to involve his/her people in his/her daily undertakings. To my people at the CAG’s office, I say of course we were used to each other but I am confident that the government will give them another good person so they should give him the necessary cooperation.

After retiring, are you planning to go into politics?

I am receiving a lot of calls from people in my home town in Rombo. Unfortunately, the Constitution may prohibit me from engaging in such roles.

Article 144 (6) of the Constitution reads: “A person who holds or who has held the office of Controller and Auditor-General shall not be appointed to, or act in, any other office in the service of the Government of the Untied Republic”.

Otherwise, I am a farmer. Since my days as a lecturer, I used to grow maize, rice and sunflower so I will continue with my farming activities. I am also writing a book on my experiences in auditing the public sector.

Are there special people who helped you to achieve what you have achieved?

All Tanzanians have been very supportive of the CAG’s work. They take it seriously. President Jakaya Kikwete made sure that there is transparency in how public monies are spent so I thank him for that.

Speaker Anne Makinda and her predecessor, Samuel Sitta have helped me a lot. Members of the media have covered CGA reports like they have never done before. I really thank them all.