Africa-Press – Lesotho. Accountant General ‘Malehlohonolo Mahase has yesterday presented before the parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) the government’s report titled ‘Road Map from Adverse to Clean Audit Report’.
She said the report is a reaction to the PAC’s order to the Ministry of Finance to devise mitigation strategies that will see the government ministries achieving
a clean audit. “The office of the Auditor General has always been pointing that there are always significant accounting errors and omissions as well as fundamental
disagreements and uncertainties on the accounts that lead to qualification of the accounts since then,” reads the PAC report in pertinent part. The Accountant
General told the Committee that the government last had a clean audit in 1973/1974 financial year. The Accountant General said the roadmap is the “national commitment to improve the
Public Financial Management performance from all levels of governance”. The Accountant-General heads the Treasury Department within the Ministry of Finance.
Section 95 of Treasury Regulations charges the Accountant-General to prepare the consolidated financial statements as per the provisions of the Public Financial Management and Accountability Act, 2011 and in line with
International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). The Accountant General is charged with the responsibility to provide technical guidance on the government’s spending units.
Asked why the government financial performance is always found wanting by the Auditor-General, Mahase said the former’s discoveries are because the Ministries fail to observe financial regulations.
She said from 1974/75 to 2009/2010 financial years, Auditor General issued a disclaimer opinion and from 2010/2011 government has had an adverse opinion.
“In March 2016, GOL [Government of Lesotho] received technical assistance from
International Monetary Fund (IMF) to improve the application of the relevant accounting standards in order to enhance financial reporting. A lot of deficiencies were discovered and a plan to address them was developed.
Since 2015/16, GOL adopted a stepped approach to enhance financial reports. “This financial reform was such that line ministries prepare their own reports and
submit to the Accountant General for consolidation. The Accountant General then submits the Consolidate report for audit,” reads the roadmap report in
pertinent part. Mahase also told the Committee that the existing financial legal instruments have deficiencies that need to be addressed by making amendments to them pointing
out the Public Financial Management and Accountability Act which she argued should anchor the Reserve Fund regulations. The Accountant General said the report is yet to be presented before the august
house for approval and adoption before its regularisation. To improve and inculcate the public service performance, Prime Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro has previously said that his led administration had introduced
the scorecards that track the progress on government’s projects and monitor their progress concerning their implementation. This tool uses the three colours for progress of the item recorded.
The red colour is given where there is a failure for implementation, those which had not been implanted are given yellow colour and those which have been executed are given
the green colour. PAC was established through the Public Accounts Committee Order 19(2) (1), 1972. It charges the PAC thus: “In its examination of accounts, the Committee will,
inter alia, satisfy itself that there is adequate control over the collection of revenue and that [sums of money] voted have been applied only for purposes
intended and enquire into such cases of unauthorised access on heads and subheads of expenditure as it deems necessary and investigate cases of wastage or extravagance brought to its notice by the Auditor General in the course of its deliberations.”
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