Dodoma — THE State has denied allegations that budgets for defence and security forces are kept as a secret adding the forces' accounts are verified and audited like any other government institution.

However, it has clarified that not all transactions made by the forces are open for public scrutiny since they involve sensitive areas.

The Deputy Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Peleira Ame Silima, said in Parliament that sensitive areas like procurement and stocking of military weapons, like those used in wars should remain a secret for security purposes.

He was responding to a question posed by Ms Martha Mlata (Special Seats CCM) who asked why the budgets for the Ministries of Defence are openly presented and why those ministries are not allocated enough funds to effectively undertake their activities.

The deputy minister said financial needs for the ministry were huge, but special consideration was made to make sure they get sufficient budget depending on the availability of funds. He said normally, the Parliament avoids debating estimates and expenditure of the ministry for the sake of keeping sensitive issues secret for the security of the State.