Samia orders swift response to audit queries

DAR ES SALAAM: PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has directed Ministers to focus and respond to the Controller and Auditor General’s (CAG) audit queries raised in the 2022/2023 reports before they are tabled to the Parliament for discussion.

The Head of State issued the directives at the Magogoni State House in Dar es Salaam on Thursday during a swearing in ceremony of several leaders, including a Minister, Deputy Ministers, Regional Commissioner, Chief Registrar of the Judiciary of Tanzania and a Judge of the High Court in a mini reshuffle she made on Sunday.

She said that the audit reports will be presented to the Parliament for discussion, thus response from the appropriate government authorities was required before the legislators start discussing the reports.

“When the Parliament discusses the reports, you are supposed to have already responded to the queries so that we know what opinions have been given as answers and those which have not been responded to measures are to be taken,” President Dr Samia said.

Recently, Controller and Auditor General (CAG) Charles Kichere highlighted significant improvements in audit reports for the fiscal year 2022/2023, while presenting 21 Government Audit Reports for 2022/2023 fiscal year at the Chamwino State House in Dodoma.

He emphasised that the majority of audit reports indicate satisfactory compliance with procedures and regulations.

The CAG noted that the audit reports reflect a commendable adherence to international standards.

During the presentation, Mr Kichere said the CAG office issued 1,209 financial statements for 2022/2023 financial year, where 222 were related to regional administrations and Local Government Authorities (LGAs), 215 to public corporations, 475 to the central government including 19 reports on political parties and 299 to development projects.

According to CAG Kichere, out of these financial statements, a staggering 1,197, equivalent to 99 per cent, were issued with unqualified opinions.

This signifies a significant improvement compared to the previous fiscal year, where out of 1,045 audited institutions, 1,010 received unqualified opinions, equivalent to 96.64 per cent.

However, Kichere also highlighted areas for concern, noting that nine reports, equivalent to 0.7 per cent, were given qualified opinions, while one report, equivalent to 0.1 per cent, received an adverse opinion.

Additionally, two reports, equivalent to 0.2 per cent, were issued disclaimer opinion. In his analysis, Kichere emphasised, “Overall, the audit reports indicate satisfactory preparation that largely complies with procedures and regulations. The emphasis here is that the preparation of audit reports complies with international standards and implementation status of past recommendations in previous audit reports, the CAG highlighted, following several recommendations aimed at enhancing public resource management, improving revenue collection and increasing efficiency in government operations.

These recommendations were crucial for bolstering transparency and accountability within Tanzania’s governmental apparatus. Acknowledging the efforts made by the government in addressing the recommendations, CAG Kichere commended the issuance of various guidelines by the President’s Office to facilitate the implementation process.

In March last year, President Samia made the same directives to government during the presentation of Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) performance report and Controller and Auditor General (CAG) audit reports for 2021/2022 fiscal year.

“I received the reports and will forward them to parliament as soon as possible so that the government can respond to the issued opinions.” Some opinions have been issued, because government officials failed to provide appropriate records or failed to keep records, but if they are searched, many opinions will be reduced,” Dr Samia said.

She added, “If the government takes longer to respond to the opinions, community members will take what the MPs say because the MPs will not know whether the government has responded or not,”.