(NYASATIMES) Aleke for Audit office’s autonomy

Aleke for Audit office’s autonomy
10 January, 2009 03:35:00

Aleke: National Audit Office should not be a government department

Chairperson of parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Aleke Banda has said the National Audit Office (NAO) should be independent from the executive arm of government to ensure its effectiveness.

NAO audits the accounts of all government departments as well as a wide range of other public bodies, and reports to Parliament on which they have used public money.

Aleke said: “Due to the nature of the functions of the National Audit Office, it was necessary for it to be independent, to have its own offices, its own regulations and authority.”

He explained that the constitution says the Auditor General is supposed to submit his report to Parliament through Minister of Finance but under the Public Audit Act, he is supposed to present his report through the Speaker.

The former finance minister said it is important to amend the constitution to fall in line with Public Audit Act to ensure the independence of NAO.

“The National Audit Office should not be a government department. It should be independent like the office of the Ombudsman that will give them a great deal of flexibility,” said Aleke.

“The main purpose of National Audit Office is to assist the nation to ensure that the few resources we have are properly utilised,” said PAC chair.

“Their infrastructure is very poor, their equipment is not adequate. They need to be independent so that they should not report to any minister but report to National Assembly which is the representative of the people of the country,” said Aleke.

It has been observed that the NAO’s statutory requirement of producing quality and timely audit reports is not met.

In some instances, PAC meets to discuss audit issues which are over five years old, creating room for unaccountability, non-transparency and lack of good governance.

Law experts proposed further regulations to empower the auditor-general with full prosecution powers to take legal action against those accused of embezzling public funds.

President Bingu wa Mutharika administration has been riddled with a lot of abuse of public resources by cabinet minister but the Auditor General’s office has been under control by the executive.

Chief Secretary in the office of President and Cabinet (OPC), Bright Msaka said the prudent management and utilization of public resources must be a collaborative effort between the National Audit Office and the legislature.