What happened:
NCA Tanzania has a core partner under the Economic Empowerment and Resource Governance Programmes. Two staff members at the core partner were found guilty of taking advantage of the exchange rate gain by using it for their own benefits.
What did we do:
Suspicions of financial irregularities we uncovered during a follow up visit to the partner by the NCA grants team. The partner took the matter very seriously and worked together with NCA with governance structures, to document the fraud, and on correct follow up. Funding was suspended to give room for investigation. A swift and thorough investigation was then completed. The partner’s management were finally requested to prepare Foreign Exchange Risk Management Policy and strengthen its internal control by ensuring proper segregation of duties.
What did we learn:
Partners should include exchange rate risk in their Risk Management Matrix. Proper segregation of duties is required to management funds.