PREPARATIONS for the general elections late next year risk being enmeshed in fraud, bribery and other instances of corruption, Vice President Dr. Philip Mpango cautioned yesterday.

Presiding at the opening session of an annual conference of senior officials of the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), he said public procurement entities had been seen to be a hotspot for misuse of public funds.

Recent reports from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) reviewing a total of 44 institutions indicate that graft plays a major role in tendering processes, he asserted.

 “Out of 17 floated bids in public institutions, procurement procedures for purchases billed at 62.27bn/- by-passed tender specifications and issued to entities through predisposition, he said.

Other qualified bidders were either sidelined or purposely snubbed, he stated, elaborating that the PPRA report showed that public contracts valued at over 54bn/- were signed without endorsement of the Attorney General’s office, showing explicit graft intentions.

The annual general meeting of PCCB heads of department runs under the theme of ‘prevention of corruption is yours and my obligation,’ while on a brighter side the bureau affirmed saving 172.3bn/- during calendar 2023,

It is money that could have been lost through embezzlement in public offices and institutions, the report noted, pointing at cases of corruption as also tied to bureaucracy, poor service provision, laziness and carefree attitudes among senior public officials.

The VP insisted listed spheres where fraud and bribery are prevalent, including the police, land offices, licensing and permit issuing offices, while raising a red alert on the general election process awaited next year.

Francis Chalamila, the PCCB director general, had earlier said that for years the bureau was being constrained, lacking facilities to reach out to remote areas.

He praised President Samia Suluhu Hassan for disbursing 30.9bn/- to the bureau to purchase 88 new vehicles, which will enable officials to visit allo sorts of places to closely investigate infrastructural projects being undertaken in various districts and regions.

The government has issued a go ahead for employing 1,190 new members of staff to reinforce the PCCB workforce, he added.