A verification process is currently underway within the ministry of health to resolve anomalies in the fleet of cars owned by the ministry. Recently auditor general Junias Kandjeke said at least 229 vehicles belonging to the ministry could not be accounted for.
According to the chief auditor, the ministry’s executive director Ben Nangombe informed the AG’s officials that it owns 1 876 vehicles. However, the master list of all vehicles owned by the ministry indicated that it had 1 647 vehicles, resulting in an unexplained difference of 229 vehicles.
In a statement issued yesterday, Nangombe said the conflicting data in the number of vehicles on hand and those on the vehicle master list of the ministry are a result of errors emanating from previous financial periods, causing a difference between the opening balance and the master list.
“Through internal mechanisms, the ministry discovered that the anomalies arose as a result of instances of less-than-equal-optimal recording of information related to applications made by some units in the ministry for disposal of vehicles considered obsolete or those damaged beyond repair,” explained Nangombe.
He further explained the ministry decided to carry out a comprehensive verification exercise in November 2020, but due to Covid-19 outbreak and constrained resources, the processes had to be postponed to 2021/2022 financial year.
“The ministry assures the public that the matter is receiving the required attention and information will be shared through appropriate channels once the verification exercise has been completed. We will make sure the anomalies are resolved and the figures do balance going forward,” said Nangombe.