The government is still without an asset register listing all fixed properties and vehicles, making it nearly impossible to determine the value of the total assets.
This recurring finding is contained in Auditor General (AG) Junias Kandjeke’s latest report, zeroing into the books of the Namibian government.
The audit report covers the 2021/22 financial year (FY). It was tabled in the National Assembly this week for further scrutiny.
He said: “The government of Namibia does not have an asset
register, where all fixed properties and vehicles are recorded. Thus, it would be difficult to determine the number and value of government vehicles and immovable properties”.
Kandjeke thus recommended that the accounting officer [finance executive director] should ensure that there is
an asset register for all government vehicles and immovable properties. Responding to the country’s top
public auditor, the management at
the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises indicated that the wheels are in motion for a comprehensive asset register to be realised.
“Finance agreed that government does not have complete records of its fixed assets. As a result, the Ministry of Works and Transport and Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises have embarked on an asset verification project, and have assigned a dedicated team to visit all regions with a view to conducting the identification, verification and registration of all fixed government assets across the country,” Titus Ndove, the finance executive director is quoted as saying in the report.
He continues: “Thereafter, the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises and the Ministry of Works and Transport will conduct a joint exercise to capacitate the users of the asset registers in offices, ministries and agencies (OMAs), and data for immovable assets will be uploaded in the electronic asset register.”
Efforts to get an update in this regard from Ndove yesterday were fruitless, as his phone went unanswered.
Kandjeke, however, was satisfied with
the government’s overall accounting,
giving it a qualified audit opinion.
“In my opinion, except for the matter described in the Basis for Qualified Opinion paragraph, the financial statements of the government of Namibia as at 31 March 2022 are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with sections 12 and 13 of the State Finance Act,” he observed in the
report.
In accounting terms, a qualified opinion
is an auditor’s declaration that there is an
area of uncertainty in an organisation’s financial statements. But except for that uncertainty, the financial statements otherwise generally represent its performance.
On the selected key performance indicators (KPIs), the AG was impressed by the government’s debt management, finding it satisfactory that the “Directorate: Debt Management targeted a percentage of
deficit funded through domestic borrowing
at 80%, and 7% for the percentage of guarantee level as a ratio to GDP, and the targets were met.”
Unauthorised spending
On the front of unauthorised expenditure, Kandjeke noted that during the 2021/22 FY, eight OMAs exceeded their approved budgets.
The total excess expenditure amounted to N$806.9 million, which compares with the excess expenditure totalling N$1.1 billion in respect of seven budget votes the previous financial year.
This means the unauthorised expenditure was reduced by N$294.7 million (36.5%) when juxtaposed against the previous FY [2020/21].
During the period under review, the Presidency overspent its budget by N$2 million, while the National Assembly overspent its own by N$2.6 million.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation spent N$10.6 million more on its approved budget, while the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture overspent its by N$318.5 million.
The Veterans Affairs’ directorate overspent its budget by N$9.88 million, while Sport, Youth and National Service spent N$625 870 more than what was approved.
Public Enterprises overspent its
approved budget by just N$419 673.
“It is recommended that an up-to-date commitment register can assist the accounting officers to a large extent to eliminate excesses by requesting approval for virements timeously.
Improved communication between OMAs and the ministry of finance will also contribute largely to improve the situation,” Kandjeke said.
Ndove responded: “Treasury took note
of the findings and recommendations. Written communications were issued to OMAs which incurred unauthorised expenditure to implement control measures towards ensuring that the budgets are executed within the approved ceiling.”
Under-expenditure
Not only was there overspending, but there was underspending too, as the AG picked up that some OMAs spent less than their approved budgets.
For the FY under review, N$333.5 million was underspent or returned to Treasury by nine OMAs.
The under-expenditure decreased by N$66.5 million when compared to the preceding FY.
For the current FY, the Office of the Prime Minister spent N$9.44 million less than its approved budget, while the National Council spent N$5.12 million less.
Moreover, the Mines and Energy ministry underspent its budget by N$13 million,
while urban and rural development underspent its by N$54.6 million.
Fisheries and Marine Resources; Works, and Transport underspent their allocated budgets by N$6.3 million, N$20.4 million and N$95 million, respectively.
Agriculture and Land Reform underspent their budgets by N$98.3 million, while Water underspent its by N$30.8 million, the report further shows.