Mramba’s case adjourned to Wednesday

By Rosina John, The Citizen Correspondent

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 

The Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court has adjourned the hearing of the abuse of office case against former Cabinet ministers, Basil Mramba and Daniel Yona to Wednesday.

The case which yesterday appeared for defence testimony, was adjourned due to incomplete of the panel that was presiding at the case.The ministers, who served in the Finance and Energy and Minerals portfolios, respectively in the third phase government, are charged along with former Treasury permanent secretary Gray Mgonja.

They are also charged of allegedly causing a Sh11.7 billion loss to the government through the controversial hiring of an auditing firm, Alex Stewart Assayers.

The case was adjourned before resident magistrate Victoria Nongwa who said one of the members of the panel which heard the case was absent.

The case follows three years of investigations by the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) and the police into the suspicious hiring of Alex Stewart (Assayers) Government Business Corporation (ASA) to audit gold production in Tanzania.

The firm was in 2003 assigned a contract, which saw it receive a whopping Sh65 billion ($50 million) in gold audit fees. It completed the assignment and left the country in August 2007. The Assayers Government Business Corporation was paid an average of Sh1.3 billion ($1million) every month from June 2003 to August 2007. 

Mr Mramba had started his defence testimony in August this year, after they were found to have case to answer. In his testimony, Mr Mramba admitted to have authorised Alex Stewart Assayers, which was contracted to audit gold production, to be exempted from paying tax. He told the Court that, he did so to fulfill a clause in the contract that the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) had entered with Alex Stewart that it be granted tax exemption. 

“Your honour, section 4.3.1 of the contract says clearly that any payments affected in this contract will not be subject to tax,” said Mr Mramba.He added: “We saw, and advised that the best way was to grant tax exemption because if the company took the payment with tax charged, it could take more money. That’s what we were being advised by various experts,” insisted Mr Mramba.

He said he was not party to the contract since the contract to audit gold production was entered by the Alex Stewat and BoT. According to Mr Mramba, the BoT regulations gave the governor the mandate to enter into and sign the contract on behalf of the central bank.According to Mr Mramba, the BoT regulation was clear that the contract that the bank entered relating to money was to be exempted from tax.

Source: The Citizen (08/10/2012): http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/news/51-other-news/26356-mrambas-case-adjourned-to-wednesday