Lissu names three ‘dirty’ MPs

Citizen Reporter Dodoma. As the debate on alleged corrupt MPs continued unabated in and outside Parliament, the official opposition in the august House has gone public with seven names.Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Opposition Chief Whip Tundu Lissu said all the seven MPs in his lists were members of the parliamentary committee for Energy and Minerals. He said there was clear conflict of interest among the said MPs and that, according to the Public Leadership Code of Ethics Act of 1995, public officials are obliged to declare interest whenever they get involved in any business.  Mr Lissu mentioned Mr Charles Mwijage (Muleba North-CCM), Nasri Abdallah (Korogwe Urban-CCM) and Ms Marium Kisangi (Special Seats-CCM) as among MPs who have conflict of interests  in Tanesco business operation. He noted that Mr Mwijage is said to being consultant with the Puma energy company, the very firm that won a tender to supply Tanesco with crude oil. He said since the MP was a consultant with Puma, which was competing for a tender with other companies, it would have been difficult for him to avoid supporting it in the bidding process.“According to ethics and law, which guide Parliament, it is not right for such a person to be a member of that committee; it is obvious he has a conflict of interests in the matter,” argued Mr Lissu.On Ms Kisangi, the Chief Whip said his office has discovered that the MP owns the petrol station and she was involved in fuel business. “We have evidence Ms Kisangi owns a petrol station and since she is doing such kind of business, it is obvious there is a conflict of interest because she is also a member of the House Energy committee, which oversee the same business,” said Mr Lissu. He revealed further that Mr Nasri Abdallah was another MP who owns oil companies in the country and that being a member of the Energy and Minerals Committee was improper because he was likely to use his position to influence the provision of the tender to some company of his choice. He said other two MPs who are also members of the committee were the main suppliers of tyres to Tanesco. He said it was difficult for them to take Tanesco to task while they were among people who pull it down with sub-standards supplies. When asked about the allegation on one of Chadema MP, Mr Lissu said Parliament should investigate all other committees, which are accused of the fraud and that the Opposition and Chadema in particular would act appropriately against any MP who might be found guilty. “We do not entertain nonsense, if anyone will be found guilty, Chadema will take serious measures against him or her,” said Mr Lissu. Last week the minister for energy and minerals, Prof Sospeter Muhongo, told Parliament some members of the parliamentary committee for Energy and Minerals are tyre suppliers to Tanesco.“… and their tyres are below standard and their prices are quite high,” Professor Muhongo told an attentive House. According to Mr Lissu, a Special Seats MP in the list is said to be having personal relationship with one of top officials in the ministry of Energy and Minerals while another lawmaker is alleged to be lobbyist for two oil companies, which were competing for tenders. When reached for comment, some of the MPs mentioned in the opposition list said the claims were insignificant because they were transparent in everything they do. Ms Marium Kisangi confirmed to The Citizen that it was true she owns the said fuel station and that hers was a family business. “ I was a Mianzini Primary School headteacher before becoming MP, my husband is a retired civil servant, and my firstborn son has no other job except supervising this business, I have nothing to do this scandal,” said Ms Kisangi. When asked about the violation of the Public Leadership Code of Ethics Act of 1995, the MP said the Code is against an MP who does business clandestinely; she wasn’t. “I am transparent in my businesses, I declared my interest before the Ethics Committee, and they even wrote a letter of commendation to me recently,” she explained. For his part, Mr Mwijage commented that his position in the committee was very crucial since he was considered an expert in the oil sector.  “I have been working for oil companies for more than 28 years, therefore my responsibilities in the committee include to advise and offer professional advice whenever it is needed,” said Mr Mwijage. According to him, the opposition should avoid misinterpreting the matter, and instead they should concentrate on fighting corruption and not focusing on a few individuals. Mr Nasri Abdallah could not say anything rather than asking this journalist to hang up his phone. “Please don’t waste my time,” said Mr Abdallah. Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Job Ndugai told MPs that the Chair hasn’t any list of any tainted legislators. He said the committee welcomes MPs who have knowledge on the matter to assist it with crucial information. Moreover, Mr Ndugai informed the House that a team of Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) was already interrogating some MPs on the matter.