Posted on July, 17, 2018 at 10:48 am
ONLY six per cent of individuals and institutions that owe the military billions of shillings in unpaid tractor loans have started paying up, two months after President Magufuli gave the defaulters a one-month ultimatum to pay up or face legal action, it was revealed yesterday.
According to a statement released by the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) commercial wing Suma-JKT, just 24.8 per cent of clients that owe debts in security service fees to TPDF have also responded.
The statement said the Suma JKT Auction Mart debt collection firm has been given the green light to proceed with legal action against the remaining debtors who have not responded so far.
Speaking at the inauguration of TPDF’s new investment centre in Dar es Salaam back in May, President Magufuli expressed displeasure that the tractor loans debt had been allowed to rack up to 38bn/- and unpaid security services bill to 3.4bn/-.
The president instructed the Minister for Defence and National Service, Hussein Mwinyi, to notify all the individual and institutional debtors of the ultimatum in writing and provide him with copies of the letters.
The Chief of Defence Forces, General Venance Mabeyo, had informed Magufuli that the list of debtors included both government and private institutions that were proving reluctant to service their debts.
On June 4, National Assembly Speaker Job Ndugai gave members of parliament who borrowed tractors from the army until June 23 to settle their debts, saying this was as per written instructions from Suma JKT.
Speaker Ndugai said he had earlier considered forwarding the names of all the defaulting MPs to the parliamentary accounts department so that their debts could be deducted from their legislative pay packages, only to back-track after learning that those packages – including salaries – are already being subjected to several other deductions.
Since then, there has been no information regarding the MP’ response to the speaker’s directive. Yesterday’s statement from Suma JKT did not disclose the names of individuals or institutions that have begun paying off their debts.
The Suma JKT tractor project in 2010 was aimed at complementing the government’s Kilimo Kwanza (Agriculture First) initiative by providing Tanzanian farmers with tractors and other farm equipment at affordable prices.
The tractors initially sold at 25 million/- each, but in 2012 the price was reduced to 16m/- to allow more local farmers to acquire the machines.
Source: IPP Media