Africa-Press – Botswana. Public trust on Public Account Committees (PACs) and other oversight institutions continues to erode in the SADC region as an amount of P88.6 billion of public funds that could have benefited the public have been lost and never accounted for.
This was said by Southern Africa Development Community Organisation of Public Accounts Committees (SADCOPAC) chairperson, Mr Warren Mwambazi at the official opening of a peer review programme and training for members and officials supporting PACs in Gaborone on yesterday.
Therefore, he called on PACs to restore public trust by being accountable and ensure that public resources were utilised accordingly to serve the desired plans.
“As guardians of public interests, we must ensure that the public funds go toward benefiting the nation,” Mr Mwambazi said.
He further said through PACs’ collective efforts and focus on their mandate, they were in a position to drive change in their respective countries. Mr Mwambazi also said training of PACs and other associated Parliamentary committees was necessary to continue providing oversight over government and to ensure prudent spending of public funds.
He said the capacity building initiative that would run for two days was to empower PACs to combat the region’s most pressing challenges. Mr Mwambazi said the outcome of the training would be to strengthen PACs and oversight institutions and enhance transparency in the utilisation of public funds. He urged committees to create partnerships with media and other organs to foster accountability in government expenditure.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse said the capacity building was an invaluable resource, as it would help identify strengths and weakenesses of PACs. He also said the training would assist in building relationships to advance common goals and promote better understanding between nations.
In addition, he said it was through SADCOPAC that external relations were strengthened and enhanced mutual understanding between countries. He said SADCOPAC had designed a strategic plan that would guide annual plans of PACs. Though SADCOCAP was a body that coordinated PACs in SADC member states, he said prior to establishing the body, PACs were operating in a disjointed manner.
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