Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Office of the Auditor General remains banned from entering military bases and is therefore still unable to verify whether the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs has spent an amount of N$506 million on military equipment.
“Access to that was denied. The accounting officer (executive director) replied, saying access to military and operational military bases for all civilians, including auditors, remain restricted until such time the ministry receives a response from the president,” Imelda Hummel, the director of financial audits at the Office of the Auditor General, yesterday said when defence ministry officials appeared before the parliamentary standing committee on public accounts.
Hummel said auditors were denied access without the proper procedures being followed.
“If something is confidential and sensitive, we need to be informed … as opposed to just being denied,” she said.
The report also reveals that at least N$1,6 million meant for military study bursaries and assistance is unaccounted for.
Additionally, the ministry cannot account for N$201 000 after conducting stocktaking.
The details of the report date back to the 2018/19 financial year.
The auditor general’s report also shows a difference of N$457 000 between the debit balance list and the subsistence and travel (S&T) advance suspense account.
Furthermore, the defence ministry has failed to investigate the repayment of N$278 000 into a bank account in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This is despite Namibia not having had a defence attaché in the DRC for the past three years.
The money was labelled ‘spousal allowance’, but records show the last defence attaché in the DRC did not have a spouse.
The ministry said it could not send an investigative team to the DRC due to Covid-19, despite the report having been concluded in 2019.
‘DON’T BLAME COVID’
Chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on public accounts Dudu Murorwa yesterday interjected and told the executive director of defence, Wilhelmine Shivute, she did not need to be reminded she was speaking under oath.
“Even if the defence attaché and his spouse were there, payments for the rent, vehicle insurance and the driver would not be classified under spousal allowance,” Murorwa said.
The committee said the ministry should not blame Covid-19 for its inability to solve their problems.
“We need proof to know what really happened to that money as soon as possible,” committee member Nico Smit said.
Shivute said only about US$1 000 (N$16 000) was paid to a ‘ghost’ spouse.
“We are still sending money there, but not for spousal allowance . . . The defence attaché from Tanzania sometimes crosses to the DRC to attend meetings there,” she said.
‘LETTER NOT RESPONDED TO’
On refusing the auditors access to military bases, Shivute said the ministry did not have a problem with the overall auditing of the ministry’s books, accounts, and assets.
“The ministry only has a problem with the inspection relating to the auditing and publishing of key performance indicators (KPI), which included the verification of the state of military equipment and readiness of the Namibian Defence Force,” she said.
Shivute said the N$1,6 million which is alleged to be missing from the study bursaries and assistance budget is part of the general ledger.
On S&Ts she said a letter of concern from the defence ministry to the Ministry of Finance, which was copied to the Office of the Auditor General was never responded to.
On the missing N$201 000 from stocktaking, Shivute said the difference between what was reported by the accounting officer and what was contained in the stocktaking reports could not be investigated, because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We will do stocktaking in this financial year to determine the difference,” she said.
The committee has told the defence ministry it wanted to scrutinise its books.
The Namibian recently reported that an investigation into alleged corruption at the military company August 26 Textile and Garment Factory found that around N$40 million has been transferred to Dubai, the United States, Malaysia, and Brazil to allegedly buy pillows, uniforms, and other goods for soldiers.
Police investigators believe some of these goods were never delivered and that the funds were instead diverted to the personal accounts of certain individuals.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
