Parliamentary committee concerned over LAs financial reports

KEETMANSHOOP – Chairperson of the National Council Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Economy, Peter Kazongominja has expressed concern over the uncertainties on what municipalities, town and village councils should do to writeoff pre-independence debt.

Kazongominja, during the auditor general’s (AG) eighth stakeholders briefing session for local authorities in the Hardap and //Kharas regions on Monday, said failure for local authorities to keep accounting records and to comply with applicable legislation, accounting standards and other mandatory reporting requirements approved by the AG also remain great concerns to the committee.

“Some local authorities fail to table and consider at their ordinary meetings the report of the AG and decide on rectifying steps on shortcomings revealed by the audit report while they also lack capacity on the part of accounting officers to compile financial statements as per the requirement of the Act,” said Kazongominja.

The committee, he said recently undertook drastic measures to deal with the concerns faced by the committee when it comes to local authority and submission of accounting records.

The committee further decided that those local authorities that have been failing for many years to submit financial statements to the AG office would be summoned to appear before the committee.

“As a committee, we believe that it is unacceptable to run an organisation without providing financial accountability over a time span of five to 10 years. In the past, the committee invited only accounting officers whose reports were tabled before the committee, but now we are saying let’s talk also to those local authorities that never submit reports,” he said.

He said the committee is also considering writing a letter to the minister of Urban and Rural Development to call for the ban of consultants used by local authorities and regional councils to prepare financial reports.

“It is worrisome that local authorities spent exorbitant consultancy fees with the hope that their books or financial statements will be in good order and yet, the final product prepared with the assistance of the consultants do not guarantee a clean audit report,” he said.