Maintenance Of Roads – CAG Report

The statistics from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) issued in second quarter (April-June 2021) report of October 2021 indicated that, the transportation sector contributed about 8.4% of the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the country. Transportation is therefore a key sector in the growth of the economy. The National Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP) 2016/17-2020/21, focused on industrialisation recognising roads as enabling environment for industrial growth in the country. This recognition was crucial bearing in mind that the industrial development would depend much on good and maintained roads as part of enabling environment.

The FYDP, 2016/17-2020/21 also sets key interventions of roads such as maintenance, rehabilitation and construction which are also key performance indicators for the economic development of the country. In increasing the country’s economy, the existing roads should be maintained to promote their quality. The main objective of the audit was to assess whether the Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT) through TANROADS has effectively managed maintenance of roads to maintain their expected life span.

The audit covered the entire country, but data were collected from Seven selected regions covering seven geographical zones to establish the extent to which maintenance of roads are managed. The audit also covered a period of five fiscal years from 2016/17 to 2020/21 and aimed to establish performance trends in the maintenance of roads and come-up with reasonable analysis to the Controller and Auditor General to draw sound conclusion. Increased number of newly constructed roads in the country, demanded for more effective management of roads maintenance activities.

The method used for data collection included interviews, document reviews and physical observations of the existing roads, maintained roads and ongoing maintenance activities. The criteria for the assessment were done based on the existing and applicable laws, standards/manuals, policies, directives and plans.