Kuzeeko Tjitemisa
WINDHOEK – Auditor-General Junias Kandjeke expressed concern over the non-submission of financial statements by some local authorities and state entities to his office, saying this hampered the execution of his mandate.
Kandjeke expressed his concern in a special report of the Auditor-General on the non-submission of financial statements, tabled in Parliament by Deputy Minister of Finance, Natangwe Ithete last week.
According to the report, there are 31 local authorities and six statutory bodies who either have failed to submit their financial reports on time or who have failed to submit reports of years dating as far back as 2004. According to the report, the two municipalities, 10 town councils, 12 village councils, six regional councils and six state entities broke the law by not complying with the stipulated legislations, namely the Local Authority Act, the Regional Councils Act and the State Finances Act.
The law requires local authorities to submit their financial statements three months after the end of a financial year or a period approved by the Auditor General.
The municipality of Outjo, town council of Karasburg, Stampriet Village Council, and Zambezi Regional Council are among the top in the list of entities that have failed to submit up-to-date financial statements to the office of the Auditor-General.
The Outjo municipality has failed to submit financial reports for the 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 financial years, and the municipality of Okahandja which has failed to submit financial reports 2016/17 and 2017/18 financial years.
The biggest perpetrator among town councils is Karasburg, which has failed to submit financial reports for the 2012/13, 201/14, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 financial years, followed by the Bukalo Village Council, which has failed to submit financial reports for the 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 financial years.
Bukalo is trailed by the Stampriet Village Council, which has not submitted financial reports for the 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 financial years.
The biggest culprit in regional councils are Zambezi, Ohangwena and Kavango West, who failed to submit financial reports for the 2016/17, 2017/18 financial reports. The biggest offender among the state entities are the Community Court, which has not submitted financial reports since its inception, followed by Mineral Development with outstanding financial reports of 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 financial years.
Mineral Development is trailed by the Mineral Resource Fund, Film Video Development Fund and the National Emergency Disaster Fund, with outstanding financial reports of 2016/17 and 2017/18.