The release of the 2019 Auditor-General’s report has been
delayed indefinitely after Government auditors failed to complete examining all
public accounts as a result of Covid-19-induced restrictions.
In terms of Section 309 (2) of the Constitution, read with
Section 10 of the Audit Office Act [Chapter 22:18], the Auditor-General is
required to prepare and submit a report of all Government books to the Minister
of Finance, who then tables it in Parliament not later than June 30 of each
year.
However, the audit was disrupted by the lockdown, which
began on March 30. The Auditor-General, Mrs Mildred Chiri, told The Sunday
Mail that the lockdown had unfortunately coincided with the period her office
conducts year-end audits.
“The reason why the report has been delayed this year is
mainly because of the coronavirus pandemic,” said Mrs Chiri.
“We usually do our year-end audits starting from March to
around May, but then this was around the time when the lockdown started.
“As a result, this gravely disrupted our work. We are hoping that once the lockdown measures are relaxed,
then we can resume the work we had started.
“We had done much of the work and can be able to do the
rest once the restrictions are lifted.”
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi
Ziyambi, who is also the leader of Government business in Parliament, said the
coronavirus outbreak had disrupted much of Parliament’s work, including
receiving the AG’s report.
“In terms of the law, the Minister of Finance is supposed
to table the report before Parliament by June 30,” said Minister Ziyambi.
“But in the case where the Finance Minister is unavailable,
he can request that I submit the report on his behalf.
“But on the whole, you must appreciate that because of
Covid-19, everything was not functioning as well as it should during normal
times and this also includes Parliament itself.”
The 2018 Auditor-General’s Annual report exposed shambolic
accounting records in some ministries and the diversion of public funds, while
in some instances goods procured by some public entities were not delivered.
The Second Republic has, however, made a commitment to use
findings from the audit reports to prosecute those who might be implicated in
corrupt practices. Sunday Mail
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