Air Tanzania is currently tangled in a financial fraud involving the invoice of its first Boeing 767 freighter. The invoice raised was found to be inflated by nearly $50 million. As per the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) report, the last instalment for the was $37 million but an $86 million invoice was presented to the government. As soon as realising the price hike for the aircraft, Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has called for the resignation of all individuals involved in the fraud.
She said: “Where did this invoice come from? What did the contract say? And when you received the invoice, you still presented it to the government for payment. Stupid, what step did you take after you received the invoice? When you look at it critically, you will notice that the price hike is something that started internally."
The president will not tolerate such conduct, she added that the nation could not be run that way. Although she did not state the individuals who were involved in the fraud, she ordered all of them to step down from their positions.
Air Tanzania is wholly owned by the government. The new aircraft was sold to Tanzania Government Flight (TGF) to boost its cargo operations. The new freighter will be based at Kilimanjaro Airport, which will become a strategic hub for cargo operations. This will allow Air Tanzania to increase its cargo operations and boost trade with other states.
The aircraft was expected to be delivered by March 31, 2023 but the delivered is delayed due to supply chain issues.