The Tanzanian government has vowed to slash salaries of civil servants who will authorise use of hotels as venues for public institutions' meetings instead of their own conference rooms, Tanzania’s Daily News reports.

The country’s Finance Minister Philip Mpango said recently that the government would deduct the amounts to recover the costs that the public institutions incurred to conduct meetings in hotels.

"All public institutions' meetings should be conducted within the public institutions to control inappropriate use of public fund so that the fund should be injected into social services," said the Minister while opening a workshop for internal auditors.

The four-day workshop, which is part of the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) funded project of Capacity Development for Internal Audit, also saw the launching of a new Internal Audit Handbook Set (HBS) together with the guidelines of Internal Control Framework and Fraud Risk Management.

Mpango pointed out that internal auditors have a key role to play in spearheading measures introduced by the Fifth Phase Government to check misuse of public funds, noting that the government will not tolerate unscrupulous auditors.

"Internal auditors who will fail to stick to professionalism should start seeking alternative jobs," he stressed. Mpango said the government would protect internal auditors who will reveal misuse of public funds by public servants, saying the government contemplates recognising internal auditors who will demonstrate outstanding work while carrying out their duties.

According to Chief Representative of JICA in Tanzania, Toshio Nagase, Japan has been providing technical assistance to the Internal Audit General's Division (IAGD) on the capacity development for Internal Audit since 2009.

"Today, we're pleased to take part in this milestone workshop as the new Handbook Set (HBS) and guidelines will be introduced for the enhancement of internal audit function within the government of Tanzania," he said.

Nagase pointed out the HBS and Handbook Aid as important practical tools for internal auditors - in that they have been developed for use based on IGAD guidelines.

Internal Auditor General (IAG) Mohammed Mtonga said the project is geared towards enabling internal auditors to meet international audit standards as stipulated in the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF), which Tanzania endorsed in 2011.

"It's our expectation that implementation of this HBS will enable internal auditors in public sector organisations," he said.

Agencies