Concern over lack of financial controls and transparency in public expenditure has been raised by the 2023 Auditor General’s Report, which found over D3.8 billion in undeclared arrears across government ministries, departments, and organizations.
The findings showed that the Ministry of Agriculture owed D13.6 million, the Office of the President D17.1 million, and the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education D3.3 million. A total of D34.1 million in arrears were not disclosed.
Additionally, the report noted that litigation expenditures increased significantly from D9.8 million in 2021 to D112.4 million in 2023. The value of contingent liabilities was also D3.6 billion. “The escalation of these contingent liabilities poses a significant risk to the fiscal stability of the government, as they may materialize based on the outcome of legal disputes,” the research cautioned.
More errors in account balance disclosure were discovered by the auditors, who noted a D6 million discrepancy between the general ledger and financial statement statistics. At the end of the fiscal year, they also pointed out that a number of transit accounts were still unclear.
The retroactive retirement of imprests totaling D193,000, the payment of unearned salary totaling D480,738, and instances where employees received D2.1 million in basic car and transport allowances without verification are among the other abnormalities that have been noticed. Additionally highlighted were dual salary payments of D215,866 to seconded officers and unrecovered loans totaling D2.5 million.
