Parliamentary cluster summons Goodall over National Audit low funding as German agency withdrawals it’s support
Parliament’s Budget and Public Accounts cluster committee has said it wants to summon Finance minister Goodall Gondwe to explain low funding levels at the National Audit Office despite acting as a watchdog to public funds.
Vice chairman of the committee John Chikalimba said it was worrisome that the government has given the office a budget for auditing 20 councils when there are 35 councils.
“Where do they get money to audit the other 15 councils? This is a recipe for council money thefts. We will summon the honourable minister for a possible budget increase to the office,” said Chikalimba.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has been given K2.2 billion as budget for 2018/19 financial year.
Auditor General Stevenson Kamphasa said the money was not enough to carry out audits, investigations, prepare and publish audit reports for each and every ministry and government department.
He said sometimes the ministy undertakes emergency unplanned works like investigations in ministries.
“My Office has been allocated a total of K2.2 billio. You can say it is enough of not enough , but the question is how best can we use this to make the best out of it even though we know that at times when we are allocated this amount we think we can carry out our duties,” said Kamphasa.
He disclosed that audits in council will stop because German agency KfW which was bankrolling for such functions has withdrawn its support which will see 15 Council going unaudited.
Head of cooperation at the Germany Embassy in Lilongwe. Thomas Staiger, confirmed that thier “financing period has ended.”
NAO is mandated to undertake a programme of audits and examine transactions, books and accounts and other public records of every Ministry, statutory office, agency and public funds received by non-profit making organisations.
In the 2017/18 financial year, the audit office managed to conclude the audit query of the K236 billion Cashgate case which resulted into the compilation of the 54 case files submitted to the Anti Corruption Bureau and conducted a forensic audit for Malawi Foreign missisions.
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The Audit Office is as useless as Peter and Gondwe want it to be. The fact that you had concluded a few cases in cashgate hasn’t even resulted in successful prosecution of political figures. Until you have teeth to take cases to their useful conclusion, no one will take Audit Office seriously. We need to see output otherwise the unit should not even exist; it will be a waste of time and money too.
They are planning to steal from govt coffers kuti apangire campaign. Komaso afuna angoba kuti ngati boma lisithe iwo adzapeze poyambira. Paja every new govt claims kuti sindinapeze ndalama mmene timalowa m’boma. Dr Bakili Muluzi sanapeze ndalama. Bingu wa Muntharika sanapeze ndalama, a Dr Joyce Banda chimodzi modzi.
Mesa amati ma donors akusangalala ndi ulamuliro moti ayambanso kutipanga support?
mwangomuda Gooddall
Goodall akukonza koti akabe,,,,, ku maCouncil