Graft claims force Zanzibar's anti-corruption chief to resign

By Kizito Makoye

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AA) – Zanzibar’s drive to root out corruption has claimed a high-profile, and rather ironic, scalp: its anti-corruption chief.

Ahmed Hassan Makarani’s resignation as director general of the Zanzibar Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Authority (ZAECA) was accepted by President Hussein Ali Mwinyi on Friday, a government statement said.

According to local analysts, corruption and misuse of funds remain rampant in Tanzania’s public sector, which is marred by inefficiency and a cumbersome bureaucracy.

A national audit report for 2020-21 released last week showed about 4.6 billion Tanzanian shillings ($1.8 million) went unaccounted for in various government departments during that period.

The report prompted a strong response from President Mwinyi, who came to power after elections in 2020 that opposition critics say saw widespread vote rigging and outright fraud.

“Some blunders exposed by the CAG are from the past before my administration came into office,” he told reporters earlier this week.

“I urge all responsible parties to make sure that next year’s report will be clean, otherwise you should tender your resignation before I sack you.”​​​​​​​