KATIMA MULILO - The Zambezi Regional Council has received an adverse opinion for the 2021/22 financial year from Auditor-General Junias Kandjeke.

The adverse audit opinion was issued because the accompanying financial statements did not give a true and fair view of the financial position of the regional council as of 31 March 2021 and 2022 and its financial performance and cash flow for the years did not end in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).

The report made available last week further reveals that for the 2021 financial year, the auditors noted that the council made adjustments to the opening balance amounting to N$52 302 584 without appropriate disclosures as required by IPSAS.

For the 2022 financial year, the auditors noted a difference for motor vehicles of N$638 625 between the opening cost of N$12 888 627 as disclosed in the 2022 financial statements, and the closing cost amount of N$13 527 252 as per the 2021 financial statements.

With the Kabbe South Constituency office, the auditors noted that the
completion certificate issued on 16 September 2021 amounted to N$16 388 693, while the valuer general issued a valuation certificate amounting to N$8 400 000, resulting in a major impairment of N$7 988 693. This impairment was not recognised by the regional council.

Contacted for comment, the chief regional officer Regina Ndopu-Lubinda acknowledged that the audit opinion was fair, stating that the IPSAS framework was recently introduced to all regional councils and local authorities.

“Zambezi Regional Council adopted IPSAS framework in the financial year 2020. However, our main focus was to clear the outstanding backlog of which to date we have no outstanding financial statements. This will make it easier to pay attention to every detail through management checks and monthly reconciliations with a view to improving the opinion,” said Ndopu-Lubinda.

She revealed that most of the factors raised in the previous audit have been corrected in the 2022/23 financial statements. -Nampa