Every year, Tanzanians wait for the report of the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) with a mix of hope and déjà vu. Hope – that this time, things will be different. Déjà vu – because, more often than not, the findings sound painfully familiar.
The 2026 report (for the 2024/25 financial year), recently presented by the Controller and Auditor General Charles Kicheere to President Samia Suluhu on 26th March 2026 at the State House in Dar es Salaam, is no exception.
At first glance, the numbers are shocking. Air Tanzania Company Limited has posted a loss of TZS 191.19 billion in just one year, bringing total losses to TZS 748 billion. Over TZS 20 billion paid to agents without proper verification. Passenger refunds worth TZS 310 million with no supporting documents. These are not minor accounting errors. They are signs of a system that is either unable or unwilling to control itself.
Move to the energy sector. Tanzania Electric Supply Company is facing potential losses of about TZS 1.4 trillion linked to disputes around the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project. At the same time, basic procedures – like testing equipment before use – were not followed. How does a country invest trillions in a flagship project, yet fail on such fundamental technical steps?
In transport, the story is just as troubling. Tanzania Railways Corporation recorded losses due to more than 328 accidents and damaged infrastructure. Yes, the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is often presented as a success. But what does that success mean if the rest of the railway system is collapsing?
Then there is the issue of public money. The government disbursed TZS 123.8 billion in subsidies. Only TZS 12 billion was returned. Where did the rest go? Institutions like the Tanzania Bureau of Standards and National Environment Management Council returned only a fraction of what they received. This is not just inefficiency. It is a breakdown of accountability.
The health sector reveals an even more painful reality. Medicines worth TZS 18 billion expired while citizens struggle to access basic treatment. Medical equipment worth over TZS 5 billion sits unused in districts like Newala, Kigoma, and Ifakara. These are not just numbers. They represent patients who went without care in a system that had resources, but failed to use them.
And then come the governance red flags. Contracts worth TZS 56 billion signed without legal advice, including at the University of Dodoma. A stadium project in Arusha jumping from TZS 187 billion to TZS 338.54 billion, awarded through single sourcing. These are not isolated incidents. They point to a pattern where rules are bent, ignored, or simply treated as optional.
But here is the uncomfortable truth: none of this is new. Year after year, the Controller and Auditor General has been raising similar concerns. Losses in public corporations. Weak financial controls. Questionable procurement practices. Delayed projects. Poor service delivery. The sectors may differ slightly, the figures may change, but the story remains the same.
And every year, the response is also the same. President Samia Suluhu Hassan, like her predecessors, has promised that the government will act on the CAG’s recommendations. It is the right thing to say. But for many Tanzanians, it is no longer enough. Why? Because we have heard it before.
If these promises were consistently followed by action, we would not be reading the same report, with the same problems, in different years. The persistence of these issues suggests something deeper: a system where recommendations are noted, discussed, and then quietly shelved – until the next report arrives.
So, what are we really looking at?
This is not just about inefficiency. It is about a governance culture where rules exist, but are not enforced; losses occur, but consequences are rare; and audits are conducted, but reforms are limited.
In such a system, the CAG report risks becoming a ritual – important, detailed, but ultimately ignored.
The danger is not just financial loss. It is the erosion of public trust. When billions are lost in aviation, energy, health, and infrastructure – year after year – citizens begin to ask a simple question: who is accountable?
Tanzania has invested heavily in its future. Big projects. Expanding infrastructure. Growing public institutions. But without accountability, these investments will continue to leak value.
The 2026 CAG report should not be treated as just another document to be received and filed. It should be a turning point.
Because if next year’s report tells the same story again, then the real problem will no longer be the losses themselves. It will be our acceptance of them.
