DIS final audit report remains elusive

Auditor General finally gained access into the DIS books DIS strategically avoided auditors for 10 years

Thefinal findings of the Auditor General ( AG)’ s audit report on the Directorate of Intelligence Security Services ( DIS) will soon be released.

DIS was audited for the first time following a 10 year spell in which they tactically denied the Auditor General staff entry to examine their books between 2009 and 2018.

The Auditor General told the ongoing Public Accounts Committee ( PAC) during the presentation by the Intelligence organisation that she had to recall some of her auditing staff at the respective stations in other government offices and re assigned them to do the DIS audit in order to cope with the work load created of a 10 year backlog. However, the contents of the audit, which was completed in August 2018 and remains with the DIS, as the auditee has to make final comments on it, is everyone’s guess.

Indications are that it will punch a lot of holes as well as expose many wrongs within the spy organisation. Assisting the PAC on why it took that much long, the Auditor General tried hard not to be seen to be accusing anyone. She was asked to jump in and clarify some issues at a time when the DIS Director General Brigadier Magosi was still on the floor.

The Auditor General told PAC that they had not been auditing for a long time and the last audit was for 10 years from 2009 to 2018.

“We are planning to start another audit to continue where we left off.” She said they completed the audit for the 2009- 2018 in August 2020. The Auditor General further explained that they were not able to do the audits because they never had the opportunity to audit the DIS despite requesting to do so.

She said for the Auditor General to perform an audit, both the auditee and the AG should be ready for the exercise. But in the case of the DIS, they were never ready until 2018. The Auditor General said they are still waiting for DIS response after submitting the reports back to them in August 2020.

She however declined to share the major findings with the committee until such time after the DIS has responded. The Auditor General also stated that there is no legal provision that they can use to compel an agency of the state to be audited. “We are not at the mercy of the auditee, but we engage the auditee and go to audit them only when they are ready to be audited,” she said.

However, she said the PAC is one avenue where the Auditor General can report her inability to audit a particular ministry or department.