Halima Mdee, a special seat MP and staunch parliamentarian won the attention of more than 300 MPs at the parliament in Dodoma when she raised critical questions to Bumbuli MP and the Minister of Energy, Hon. January Makamba.

Halima Mdee raised her scepticism on the underway construction of the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant, which has taken a long time to complete, contrary to the initial agreement.

The dam should have been completed by June 2022. Instead, it has been announced to have reached 57% by now, something Mdee calls a clear violation of the contract by the contractor and demanded answers on how Tanzania’s government will be compensated for the colossal loss it has incurred following the reckless delay by the contractor.

Mdee stressed that the government has allocated a whooping TZS 6.5 Trillion of its internal funds to the Julius Nyerere Hydropower plant, and the dam should have been completed by June 14.

“The February energy committee report detailed nine good valid reasons for the project’s delay, and all pointed to be the contractor’s faults. The delay in the February report differs entirely from what you are telling us today that the delay is due to COVID-19, an utter lie,” said Halima.

Halima revealed that even the energy committee is aware of the real reason for the delay, and it cannot be COVID-19 as the committee discovered the contractor’s fault that led to the project’s delay.

The contractor is alleged to have built a single wall to block water instead of two. The situation led to the collapse of one wall during heavy rainfalls at the site.

Halima firmly showed her discomfort with the project’s progress while reiterating that Tanzania cannot always be the loser. It is high time the government has to do something to end this recklessness.