26 Feb 2014

Parliament has been told that the special funds which collect levies that are not deposited into the consolidation fund are alcohol levy fund, cattle export levy fund, copyrights and neighbouring rights levy on technical devices fund.

The Assistant Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr Vincent Seretse said other special funds included the national electrification levy fund, national petroleum levy fund, road levy collections fund, tourism industry training fund and the vocational training levy fund.

Responding to a question from the MP for Gaborone Central, Mr Dumelang Saleshando on Tuesday, February 25, Mr Seretse said the last audits of these special funds were done in 2013 and 2014.

Parliament heard that the balances of the special funds as at January 31, 2014 were as follows, the Alcohol Levy Fund balance was over P28 million, Cattle Export Levy over P9 million, National Electrification Levy Fund over P303 million, National Petroleum Levy Fund over P175 million, Road Levy Collection Fund over P299 million,

Tourism Industry Training Fund at over P41 million, while the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Levy on technical devices Levy Fund was never audited.

The Vocational Training Levy Fund Copyright is still awaiting confirmation of balance from the bank whilst the audit status of all the seven special funds remained unqualified.

Minister Seretse said out of the eight funds, seven were audited and had clean audits adding that any issues raised by the Auditor General during audit were reported in the management letters for attention of Accounting Officers and subsequently included in the Auditor General’s report for perusal by the Public Accounts Committee.

He said the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Levy on Technical devices and the Alcohol Levy Fund were both established in 2008.

The audit appointing authority who is the Auditor General delayed in appointing auditors to carry out the audit of both funds, he added.

Furthermore, Mr Seretse noted that the Alcohol levy funds accounts were audited in 2013 while the appointment of auditors for Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Levy on Technical Devices Fund is on-going.

MP Saleshando had wanted to know all the special funds that collected levies that are not ultimately deposited into the consolidation fund and the last time each of the funds was audited and the number of funds which got clean audits. ENDS