The Namibia Press Agency (Nampa) has received an unqualified audit opinion for the 2023/2024 financial year, marking its first clean audit in a decade. This achievement signifies a major milestone in the agency’s governance and financial management, Nampa board chairperson, Ndeuhala Katonyala-Lewis said on Tuesday. 

She noted that the clean audit from the Auditor General reflects the board’s commitment to performance, transparency and accountability. “For our board, we take performance very seriously as one of the key indicators in our performance agreement with the shareholder, which is the Government of the Republic of Namibia . “This is the first time in 10 years that Nampa is receiving an unqualified audit report since 2015. 

This is a sign that the agency is prudently directed and managed in line with good corporate governance,” she said. Katonyala-Lewis noted that the national news agency that resorts under the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has made significant financial progress under the current board. 

“This board found the agency in a net deficit, but today we are recording a surplus. That’s a commendable performance,” she said, adding that the achievement was the result of teamwork between the board, management and staff. She said the clean audit demonstrates that  Nampa has effective internal control systems capable of producing reliable and accurate financial information. 

“It means there are processes and procedures in place to ensure the system is capable of producing reliable, accurate and complete information to satisfy the Auditor- General to issue an unqualified audit opinion ,” she said. Katonyala – Lewis further emphasised that the board, through its audit committee, ensured strict oversight of financial management and compliance with governance principles. Looking ahead, she said that Nampa aims to continue strengthening its governance and maintain timely audit submissions. “Our goal is to have our audited annual financial report within six months after year-end but the challenge, which is beyond our control, is sometimes the unavailability of auditors to schedule an audit time table timeously when the financial statements are ready for audit,” she said. -Nampa