Respect Auditor General’s advice

The Auditor General, last Friday, released the 2010/11 report which painted slight improvement in the management of public resources, but also highlighted the same weaknesses that have been identified over the last five years or so. According to the report, public institutions could not account for at least Rwf5.9 billion for the period under review, with Rwf627 million thought to have been embezzled altogether.According to the report, a whopping 111 out of the 122 audited institutions, representing 91 per cent, produced reports that fell under the “qualified audit opinions” category, meaning they failed to meet the minimum financial management standards, while only 11 of them received a clean bill of health.Among the institutions that received special mention by the Auditor General Obadiah Biraro for achieving clean audits, include the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning; Agriculture; and Natural Resources; as well as a few other agencies and projects.Big up to these institutions and hope that others will endeavour to learn from them.The trick lies in the implementation of the recommendations by the Office of the Auditor General, and upholding the existing legal framework that guide public spending.Nonetheless, following years of capacity building and sensitisation, it is obvious that most of these unaccounted for expenses are deliberate and largely designed to help create avenues for embezzlement. Most of these funds are lost through breach of tendering procedures, which is often pre-meditated.As such, it is important that the National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) steps up investigations into such cases, with a view of not only taking the offenders to court but also to recover the misappropriated taxpayers’ money.It is also incumbent upon Parliament and other relevant organs to support both the NPPA and OAG in their work. It should be everyone’s responsibility to ensure clean audits.

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Respect Auditor General’s advice