ABSTRACT
In Chapter 5, the notion of resource waste is brought to the fore via analysis of individual corporate governance failures in five prominent public corporation entities. Instrumental cases of the national air carrier, Air Tanzania Corporation (ATCL), the electric energy supply monopoly, the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) and the now-defunct leather sector holding company Tanzania Leather Associated Industries (TLAI) deal with intriguing questions and perplexity, beyond a need for a mere general understanding of governance failures. ATCL is one of grossly tolerated wastage of public resources. TANESCO’s is a case of infinite waste (to the nation) because of its failure to simply abide by governance principles. Negligence at the national level, resulting in resource waste across an entire sector and untold cost to the nation due to failure in governance, is evidenced in the case of TLAI. The cases of the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) and the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) fit particularly well in understanding specific diverse phenomena. Whereas TCRA presents a case of waste by regulator, for failure not only of enforcing regulations but also of tolerating waste of resources, the case of the TPA represents governance failure by the gatekeeper of the nation’s economic access. Because of failings in sectoral governance and leadership, well-intentioned objectives could not be realized. Overall, these descriptive cases provide clear individualized responses to specific governance-related issues, thus offering an interpretive view and deep insight into a phenomenon. The cases also provide for contextual reflection – a look back at milestones in Tanzania’s public corporation entities. The cases’ in-depth analysis from the perspective of governance failure and consequent resource waste provide a unique take that in subtle ways reveal the importance of good corporate governance.
