House of Reps on Tuesday pressed for financial discipline in public institutions after the Controller Auditor General (CAG) reported that more than 2bn/- were unaccounted-for.
The chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House, Mr Omar Ali Shehe, said that during the inspection his team identified unclear use of funds in many institutions.
“It is high time, dishonest civil servants are held accountable. We must promote financial discipline and make sure that public funds are used properly,” said Shehe, as Ms Asha Bakar Makame (CCM- Women) said people have not been happy with news of misuse of funds.
“More than 2.2bn/- is too much money to end in people’s pockets at a time when the government has been hunting for funds for its development programmes, including improving health services . The habit must stop immediately,” said Mr Salmin Awadhi Salmin.
According to the report read in the House, almost all public offices have unclear records, they include: special units department (Prisons, Coast Guard-KMKM and Volunteers), regional commissioners’ offices, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA).
The Acting Minister for Finance, Dr Mwinyihaji Haji Makame, informed the house that his ministry has been working hard to address the problems mentioned in CAG reports, but shortage of skilled personnel and facilities remains a challenge.
“We have been progressing in making sure that all government properties are well documented with title deeds, implementation of the TASAF project and identifying the debts,” Makame said.
By ISSA YUSSUF, Tanzania Daily News