Is Ballali free of the alleged charges leveled against him?

Everybody including myself in the country is over perplexed with the recently made statement by State House to the general public, the statement revealed that “Tanzania government has nothing to do with the prime suspect of the loss of billions of Tanzanian shillings, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Tanzania (BOT), Mr. Daudi Ballali”.It’s actually too shameful as well as painful to hear of that. Mr. Ballali who was suspended from his duty by President Jakaya Kikwete in early January this year, has never been seen in public since he was implicated in a huge loss of government funds whose investigations is being carried out by a probing committee.
It seems as if Mr. Ballali escaped out of the country immediately the President relieved him of his duties. In other ways, I can say that his escape is a planned mission properly organized by the government judging from the statement. Days after, his position was taken over by Prof Benno Ndulu, it was officially reported that Ballali was undergoing special treatment in a Boston hospital in the United States of America. From then, it has been a confusion upon confusion with no one giving any definitive clues on his whereabouts.

Former Governor of Central Bank of Tanzania Mr. Daudi Ballali
Since it was earlier alleged that he misused his power of the office and entered into a corruptive malpractices that he managed to squander large sum of money in External Payment Accounts (EPA), this man is still at large despite of the public outcry to have him prosecuted before the court of law. This is a sensitive issue which seems to have been deliberately blocked by higher government authorities. Members of Parliament have increased pressure on the government to explain the alleged personal involvement of the governor of the matter and the opposition legislators in the Parliament have also strove with much efforts to highlight the issue in parliamentary debating chambers, but their efforts have ever since proved futile. Following Ballali’s sacking, President Kikwete formed a team comprising Attorney General Hon. Johnson Mwanyika, Inspector General of Police, IGP Said Mwema and Prevention and Combating Corruption Bureau Director General, Mr. Edward Hoseah to investigate the saga involving the payment of 133bn/- in EPA funds to dubious companies. Neither the government nor the probing committee has made the matter open to the eyes of Tanzanians who are eager to know of its development, and yet still crying with pains as none of either party is there to give out the development of their stolen money.

State House Communication Director, Mr. Salva Rweyemamu.
According to the statement that was made to the general public few days ago by a State House Communication Director, Mr. Salva Rweyemamu with the main subject matter, “The government has no business with immediate former Bank of Tanzania governor Daudi Ballali for now”. However, it emphasized that it would easily find him if it found need to get him back into the country.” I am really upset by this statement as it implies the denial of human rights. With this statement, it clearly shows that the government is not in a position to defend its people.

In his briefing to reporters in Dar es Salaam, Mr. Rweyemamu said “the government will have interest in the whereabouts of the former governor only if he is implicated in the scandal”. But Mr. Rweyemamu must understand the fact that, when President Kikwete relieved Ballali of his duties, already he was satisfied of his direct involvement with the matter, could it not been that, then the President would not have decided to suspend him. Otherwise, what then was the reason behind his suspension?. The government’s statement should be described as “Danganya toto” which literally means “a statement aimed to lure people’s mind”. Without hiding up the truth, it directly shows that scores of top most government officials in the country are involved directly with the matter and that is why the government is looking for the means of escaping. I am suspicious with our government the way it handles the issue, officials who are implicated directly seems to be struggling to get out of a chocking grip which has got hold on their neck, it seems as if they are diverting the evidences already in place and tend to look for other means of escaping in order to free themselves from this biggest financial scandal which has spotted a black mark in the country’s history since independence in 1961.

I could hear people who are crying over the matter, it has now become the talk of the day everywhere including inside daladalas when people are traveling back to their homes. Just imagine with the persistent poverty stricken situation in the country, yet the big murderers continues to shine in the country living the little ones who put them in power suffering. It’s very amusing to see also that other suspects in the already exposed dubious contractual deals such as that one of a Richmond saga, Buzwagi mining contract, Kiwira Coal Mine, and many others the government entered and which of course have caused great losses to the government, and to the great dismay people are surprised to see the suspects are left roaming freely and no any action is taken against them. Who would stand for Tanzanians’ rights in future? When shall we expect another Mwalimu Nyerere in this country?