A Tanzanian court has sentenced two former ministers to
three years in jail over corruption charges related to the award of a gold
audit tender, according to court documents seen by Reuters news agency.
The convictions of former Finance Minister Basil Mramba and
former Energy and Minerals Minister Daniel Yona signify two of the most
high-profile convictions in the government's anti-graft drive.
Lawyers for the ex-ministers have said they plan to appeal.
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| Basil Mramba (in suit seated) and Daniel Yona (climbing) are headed to prison for three years |
Businesses have always maintained that corruption is a major
reason for the high cost of doing business in Tanzania.
Former Finance Ministry permanent secretary Gray Mgonja, who
was jointly charged with the former ministers, was acquitted by the Kisutu
Resident Magistrate's Court in Dar es Salaam.
Court documents showed the ex-ministers were accused of
abusing their authority in 2002 by "arbitrarily" awarding a contract
to audit gold production from Tanzania, Africa's fourth biggest producer.
The court also convicted Mramba, 75, and Yona, 76, of
illegally extending an audit contract for two years after its expiry in 2005,
disregarding a team set up to review the deal.
Mramba was also convicted of using his position as finance
minister to unlawfully exempt a local subsidiary of the auditor of paying 11.75
billion Tanzanian shillings ($5.3 million) in government taxes.