Development ministry underspends by N$310m
The urban and rural development ministry underspent its budget for the 2016/17 financial year by N$310.1 million that could have been spent on other national needs, auditor-general Junias Kandjeke has found.
The information is contained in the ministry's audit report tabled in the National Assembly by finance minister Calle Schlettwein last week.
Kandjeke recommended that the ministry's accounting officer, the permanent secretary, put measures in place to avoid underspending of the budget. He also recommended that the ministry comply with the Treasury Instruction DC 0202, which stipulates that when drawing up draft estimates, accounting officers and their financial advisors ought to guard against requesting more funds than they can reasonably spend.
The ministry was also caught on the wrong side for unauthorised expenditure amounting to N$3.2 million, which is in contravention of the State Finance Act of 1991.
The auditor-general also observed differences between appropriated amounts in the ministry's budget book and the appropriation account.
Kandjeke noted that under the main division, Regional, Local and Traditional Authority Coordination, the budget book shows N$1 122 917 000, while the appropriation account shows N$1 249 548 000.
This translates into an unexplained difference of N$126 631 000.
For Housing, Habitat and Technical Service Coordination, the budget book shows N$1 452 395 000, while the appropriation account shows an amount of N$1 334 764 000. This means there was a variance of N$117 631 000.
“It is recommended that the accounting officer should explain the differences between appropriated amounts and amounts in the appropriation account,” Kandjeke said.
While acknowledging that the Tender Board (now Central Procurement Board) granted the ministry an exemption to the tune of N$2.6 billion for the procurement of various items during the period in question, the audit found that several exempted amounts were exceeded.
Among those were travel and subsistence allowances, whose approved amount stood at N$9.8 million and exceeded by N$4 million.
Utilities were exceeded by N$3.5 million. The approved amount was N$7.4 million.
“It is recommended that the accounting officer should explain why the amounts were exceeded, why office furniture and equipment were purchased under the exception, while there was no provision for it under the exemption,” he added.
NAMPA
The information is contained in the ministry's audit report tabled in the National Assembly by finance minister Calle Schlettwein last week.
Kandjeke recommended that the ministry's accounting officer, the permanent secretary, put measures in place to avoid underspending of the budget. He also recommended that the ministry comply with the Treasury Instruction DC 0202, which stipulates that when drawing up draft estimates, accounting officers and their financial advisors ought to guard against requesting more funds than they can reasonably spend.
The ministry was also caught on the wrong side for unauthorised expenditure amounting to N$3.2 million, which is in contravention of the State Finance Act of 1991.
The auditor-general also observed differences between appropriated amounts in the ministry's budget book and the appropriation account.
Kandjeke noted that under the main division, Regional, Local and Traditional Authority Coordination, the budget book shows N$1 122 917 000, while the appropriation account shows N$1 249 548 000.
This translates into an unexplained difference of N$126 631 000.
For Housing, Habitat and Technical Service Coordination, the budget book shows N$1 452 395 000, while the appropriation account shows an amount of N$1 334 764 000. This means there was a variance of N$117 631 000.
“It is recommended that the accounting officer should explain the differences between appropriated amounts and amounts in the appropriation account,” Kandjeke said.
While acknowledging that the Tender Board (now Central Procurement Board) granted the ministry an exemption to the tune of N$2.6 billion for the procurement of various items during the period in question, the audit found that several exempted amounts were exceeded.
Among those were travel and subsistence allowances, whose approved amount stood at N$9.8 million and exceeded by N$4 million.
Utilities were exceeded by N$3.5 million. The approved amount was N$7.4 million.
“It is recommended that the accounting officer should explain why the amounts were exceeded, why office furniture and equipment were purchased under the exception, while there was no provision for it under the exemption,” he added.
NAMPA
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