The government has called for speedy audit of 1,3tri/- that was recently approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to address COVID-19 effects in the country. In his remarks that was delivered on his behalf by the Arusha Regional Commissioner here on Monday, Finance and Planning Minister, Mwigulu Nchemba tasked the Office of the Internal Auditor General to start auditing the COVID-19 funds recently approved by the IMF.
Minister Nchemba emphasised on the use of Real time audit on the relief package for implementation of the national socio-economic relief plan against the pandemic. "While a huge chunk of the money has been disbursed to different projects such as health and education, it is still important to see how every penny is spent," insisted the Minister at the start of a three-day Internal Auditors' Annual Conference.
According to Dr. Nchemba, the government wishes to see value for money as part of its measures to promote accountable and transparent use of the loan, which seeks to help in tackling economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Equally, the Minister challenged the internal auditors to employ core principles of internal auditing, while scrutinizing the loan which will be used in revamping mostly hit sectors of the national economy like Education, Tourism, Health and Water.
Clarifying on the shortage of internal auditors in the country, Dr. Nchemba said while the government would set aside some funds for employing more personnel, it was important for the auditors to take Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) exams. "I urge all financial auditors to take CISA exams so as to remain professionally relevant and to be of more value to the profession," he said. He assured the internal auditors that the government would be more than willing to fund such exams and further training for the financial experts.
Minister Nchemba further challenged the internal auditors to prioritize auditing of revenues and not just expenditures. Earlier, the Internal Auditor General, Athumani Mbutuka decried the shortage of internal auditors in the country. According to Mr. Mbutuka, his office had 1,461 auditors to its name, against the actual demand which is 2,409. "The situation is even worse at district councils, where there is a serious shortage of staff," he said.
The Internal Auditor General revealed that the required number of auditors at every council was four, but most district councils had only two people. He called on the government to support the cadre in keeping abreast with Information and Communication and Technology (ICT) as it would help the former in reducing organizational risk and improve management systems and risk control, efficiency and effectiveness by maintaining and enhancing their quality control.