03 Mar 2021

The National Assembly on March 2 sanctioned the Office of the Auditor General budget proposal of approximately P89 million for the next financial year.

Presenting the budget estimates for the oversight body, Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Dumezweni Mthimkhulu said the funds were a 6.5 per cent reduction from the previous financial year.

Mr Mthimkhulu said given the economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, diminishing government revenues meant the Office of the Auditor General needed to do more with less.

He said over the past year, the work of the unit had been restricted by COVID-19 travel restrictions, which stretched its resources, but had managed to audit public expenditure.

This included performance audits on COVID-19 spending and on various institutions such as the Department of Tertiary Education Funding and the Central Medical Stores, Mr Mthimkhulu said.

He further explained that the bulk of the funds sought for the upcoming financial year would be utilised for salaries and allowances, and administrative costs including internal travel for outstation audits and external travel for missions abroad to meet international obligations.

Expressing his views, Minister of Transport and Communications, Tlokweng Member of Parliament, Mr Thulagano Segokgo said the Office of the Auditor General needed greater capacity to provide better oversight.

He said for more effective provision of services to communities to be realised through local councils, better auditing oversight was necessary, and he also called for an improvement in the information communication technology infrastructure used by the unit.

Contributing to the debate, Minister of Environment, Natural Resources, Conservation and Tourism, Specially Elected MP, Ms Philda Kereng said the Office of the Auditor General should be assisted to become more efficient and overcome the trend of having a backlog of reports.

She accepted that the unit would have to work with limited resources in the current economic climate, and commended the proposal of having a specialised unit within the Office of the Auditor General and for risk assessment measures to be introduced.

Meanwhile, Assistant Minister of Basic Education, Lentsweletau/Mmopane MP, Ms Nnaniki Makwinja called for the rationalisation and strengthening of the Office of the Auditor General to ensure better processes of auditing and observation.

She said the unit should be enabled to provide requisite checks and balances to guide internal controls of various government departments in order to curb maladministration and corruption.

Palapye MP, Mr Onneetse Ramogapi called for the independence of the Office of Auditor General, saying they should not report directly to the Office of the President or acquire staff through the Directorate of Public Service Management.

Mr Ramogapi said Parliament should review the legal instruments guiding the Auditor General and grant greater autonomy for the purpose of better oversight in the public interest.

Selibe Phikwe West legislator, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse also said the Auditor General was susceptible to undue political interference, and should be given greater legal authority to probe government departments and enforce compliance of recommendations.

He also said the Auditor General should be appointed through the recommendation of Parliament, given security of tenure and be given greater capacity to conduct forensic investigations.

Molepolole North MP, Mr Oabile Regoeng said the Office of the Auditor General was an important oversight body and should be offered more funds than had been proposed.

Parliament unanimously voted in favour of the budget proposal. ENDS