Guide DART by commercial principles, Mhede urges a new audit committee
Just as the internal audit committee of the Dar Rapid Transit (DART) Agency completed their three-year tenure on June 30, 2022, the same committee with new members has been ushered in to guide the operations of the DART Agency in the light of commercial principles.
Speaking on the sideline of launching the new committee recently at the DART Agency’s premises, the DART Agency’s Chief Executive, Dr Edwin Mhede, implored the members to continue where the previous committee left while adhering to professionalism in their respective fields.
Dr Mhede emphasizes the importance for the Agency to run its operations with self-dependence in financial matters while offering state-of-the-art service to the public.
To be self-reliant, he has said, DART Agency should explore and identify business opportunities to implement in the DART system independently or in collaboration with the private sector.
He has implored the newly appointed committee members to guide the Agency in better ways of investing in the DART system to sustain itself financially instead of depending on government subsidies.
Apart from getting the Agency itself out of the grips of dependence on subsidies through managing investments in the DART system, he has said that DART Agency should be guided in managing its resources, including time management.
“As new committee members, I want you to challenge the Agency on how we generate revenues and manage it, including how we manage time when fulfilling our duties and responsibilities.” He said.
Dr Mhede has averred that the Executive Agency Establishment Act in Section 12 stipulates that all government executive agencies should operate on sound commercial principles by generating their incomes through public-private partnership arrangements.
In managing operations in the DART system under the PPP scheme, the DART Agency has successfully negotiated with service providers with some challenges.
He said: “I, therefore, ask the new committee to ensure that the Agency always conducts its daily operations with the guidance of a project management plan from which this committee can evaluate our performance.”
The DART Agency’s Audit Committee Chairperson, CPA Jamhuri Ngelime, has echoed Dr Mhede’s stance on the continuity to improve services saying that Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) should be the transport of convenience for everyone in the city.
The members of the Audit Committee, which consists of five members from outside DART Agency, include CPA, Jamhuri Ngelime from Bank of Tanzania (Chairperson), Dr Augustino Fungo (member) from the Institute of Finance Management (IFM), Mr Charles Palapala (member) from the Bank of Tanzania specializing in information technology. Others include Mr Moses Abdul (member) from the Internal Audit General office and Eng. Yona Malolo (member) from Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS).