Some ministers have been threatening PSs over imprest, says Auditor General

COMMENT - Better yet, completely separate the hierarchy of the civil service from that of politicians. Make it impossible for any politician to fire any civil servant, by making hiring and promotion strictly a civil service affair. The same for creating a legal framework for parastatals that protects them from political interference and appointments.

Some ministers have been threatening PSs over imprest, says Auditor General
Written by Katwishi Bwalya
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 5:38:21 PM

THE Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday heard that some ministers are threatening permanent secretaries with dismissals whenever they fail to give them imprest for use when they visit their constituencies. And the committee heard that K24 billion imprest was not accounted for in 2007.

This came to light when Secretary to the Treasury Likolo Ndalamei appeared before the committee in Lusaka. Auditor General Anna Chifungula, who is a permanent witness on the PAC, told the committee that several permanent secretaries had complained to her over threats by some ministers who demand for imprest when visiting their constituencies.

Chifungula said some ministers and deputy ministers threatened the controlling officers even when they explained that it was against the financial regulation for a minister to get imprest from government for constituency work, which falls under Parliament.

"For example, there was a permanent secretary who complained to me that a deputy minister was in the habit of asking for imprest every week that he was going to visit his constituency and in some cases that he was putting pressure on this controlling officer that he was going to attend a funeral. But when this PS said it was against the financial regulation for a minister to get imprest from the ministry because that is not government duty but Parliament. This permanent secretary was threatened with dismisals," Chifungula explained.

"And two years from now this money will be outstanding so we should also educate ministers because this will put them in problems in future."

In response to Chifungula's remarks, Ndalamei said controlling officers should write to him whenever they were pressured by ministers to make irregular payments.

"When there is pressure to make payments, the controlling officers should inform me when they find it difficult to manage their superiors so that I can also take up the matter and report to the Secretary to the Cabinet," Ndalamei said.

PAC chairperson Charles Milupi said there was a high number of unretired imprest because people obtained money in excess.

"People who are getting [imprest] in excess and that is why you find people failing to retire the money," said Milupi who is also Luena independent member of parliament.

And Chifungula informed the committee that a total of K24 billion imprest had not been retired to government.

The committee observed that controlling officers were not following the financial regulations and that consequently led to huge sums of money not being retired.

Bweengwa UPND member of parliament Highvie Hamududu wondered why controlling officers were disregarding the law.

Ndalamei said the government was worried with the increase in the number of audit queries that were being brought out in the Auditor General's report.

However, Ndalamei said the government had put up measures, among them, to retrain controlling officers who had not come out clean in the audit reports.

"In July we are meeting all the controlling officers and we are going to invite the Auditor General so that we can go through the financial regulations together," Ndalamei said.

"We are also liaising with NIPA [National Institute of Public Administration] so that they can provide training and orientation to newly appointed controlling officers so that they know what they are expected to do."

He said the government planned to introduce a single treasury account where all payments would be processed from to ensure the prudent use of public resources.

Ndalamei told the committee that government was also in the process of revamping the functions of internal auditor as a way of identifying the anomalies and reducing irregularities.