The Permanent Secretary of the Finance Ministry, George Guvamatanga, has attempted to downplay the concerns raised by the Auditor General’s (AG) office, advising them not to overreact.
Guvamatanga’s behavior is inappropriate.
The AG’s office should be allowed to conduct audits and report on state entities independently and objectively.
The AG has done an excellent job by exposing corruption and mismanagement within government entities.
However, Guvamatanga appears to be trying to intimidate the AG and her staff. He expressed unease over the AG’s findings presented to Parliament, which revealed that the government had paid for vehicles that were never delivered.
The latest AG report disclosed that the government spent large sums of money on goods and services, including 97 vehicles, as well as medical and ICT equipment, but the suppliers failed to deliver these items to various ministries and departments.
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During a familiarization tour of the Treasury by the Budget and Finance Parliamentary Committee on Monday, Guvamatanga confirmed that out of the 97 vehicles reported as undelivered, about 20 were still pending delivery.
Guvamatanga stated that the Treasury was tracking all the undelivered vehicles, ICT and medical equipment, and other services flagged by the internal audit unit.
“I can confidently say that the Auditor General misdirected themselves because, within the three pillars of control, these issues are considered known to management. I am not saying they shouldn’t have highlighted them, but they should have mentioned that the government was aware of the undelivered vehicles. We procured 167 vehicles, and as of June 9, 2023, 97 were undelivered, but we knew about them on a ministry-by-ministry basis and had already instructed those ministries to ensure delivery. As of now, the number of undelivered vehicles is down to about twenty,” Guvamatanga said.
He added that the ministry was aware of the “missing cars” and was actively following up, suggesting there was “no need for this excitement” on social media about the issue.
“I am sorry to say that the AG is still operating as if we do not have a centralized internal audit unit, but we will align them to ensure reports are delivered promptly and known issues are not reported as new ones.
There is no need for this excitement about motor vehicles and the lack of awareness about the situation. We have all the information and will continue to track and support the work of both the Auditor General and the centralized internal audit unit,” Guvamatanga added.
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