Since 2018, government seems no to be in a hurry to recruit an Auditor General and an accountants’ body argues that it is more down to lack of political will to get the vacancy filled than the string of excuses government has been giving for not recruiting one.
It is five years now since the country had a substantive Auditor General; and government does not sound to be in a hurry to fill the position.
According to the public audit laws, the Auditor General is responsible for examining transactions, books and accounts and other public records, of every government department and agency and public funds received by non-profit organisations, including relevant international organisations.
In effect, in the absence of the Auditor General, these tasks have not been fully performed in the past six years, if at all.
After years of waiting, government attempted to fill the position last year.
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It never completed the process on the grounds that only two of those that applied had the right qualifications.
Last year, Parliament changed the law lowering the requirement to accommodate any Accountant General with a Master’s degree and also who is chartered.
However, the Chartered Institute of Accountants in Malawi (Icam) argues that the move was ill-advised.
It further argues that failure to fill the position is more about political will.
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The post fell vacant on the departure of Stephenson Kamphasa whose contract expired in June 2018.
Kamphasa went back to the private sector.
Public Relations Officer at the National Audit Office Rabson Kagwamminga said the vacant post was waiting for the appointing authority to fill it.
“The appointing authority is better placed to respond to your question [on why it is taking this long to fill the position],” Kagwamminga said.
Minister of Finance Sosten Gwengwe said when the position was advertised under the new law, only two candidates qualified for the post.
It was then re-advertised and the closing date for applications was last week.
“Now they have shortlisted six candidates for possible interviews next week,” Gwengwe said.
Among other duties, the Auditor General is an advisor to Parliament through the Public Accounts Committee on issues relating to financial and economic governance.
Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee Mark Botomani told Malawi News that the committee is worried that it has taken this long to fill the vacancy.
“We are concerned that the process has taken too long. This is not good in the face of the need for good governance and accountability in the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs),” Botomani said.
He said it is a fact that the current acting person, Thomas Makiwa, has limitations in law with regard to executing crucial decisions of the National Audit Office.
“Parliament reviewed the law in order to have a more flexible approach in hiring one. We thought by doing that, government would quicken the process,” he said.
Botomani said due to low pay, people choose to stay in private practice where they can earn much more money.
Kamphasa’s appointment followed the retirement of Auditor General, Reckford Kampanje, in 2013.
Two months into his job, Kamphasa presided over the exposure of a massive public sector fraud dubbed Cashgate in September 2013.
Kamphasa initiated a forensic audit to trace an estimated $32 million of the missing public funds.
In an interview with Malawi News, Icam president, Moffat Ngalande, said relaxing requirements for the position of Auditor General as Parliament did was ill advised.
“In our view as Icam, considering that this is the highest audit office in the accountancy profession and in the land, the fact that it has been vacant for many years is more a matter of political will than the requirement for a practising licence alone,” Ngalande said.
He further said professionals want to be as independent as possible for them to successfully transition to private sector on completion of their public contract.
“The only drawback is the diminished sense of certainty and commitment shown by a person in an acting role, where one is merely a caretaker,” he said.
He further said the speed and passion of implementation of responsibilities of the office is likely to be impeded and overwhelmed by the pressures and risks of the office.
On the stalling of prosecution of cases, Ngalande said this is affected by the bureaucracy of the government or legal system but the office of the Auditor General itself should be able to testify if cases are active and ongoing.
“That’s why we always call on the government to ensure that it demonstrates commitment to pursue these cases as appropriate through the legal structures they have, including the ACB and the Attorney General’s Office because, ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’,” he said.
Scotland-based Malawians economist Velli Nyirongo said the lack of an appointed Auditor General should be a cause for deep concern as it diminishes public trust in the government.
He said Malawians are right to worry about a possible misuse of public funds.
He said it is imperative that the government takes immediate action to fill this vacant position and assure transparency and efficiency in the utilisation of public money.
“There are so many cases which the auditor General was supposed to attend to but with the absence of the Auditor General, courts have been turning away anyone from the National Audit Office, asking for the duly-appointed Auditor General to testify,” Nyirongo said
He said the repercussions extend beyond corruption concerns.
According to Nyirongo the absence of an Auditor General hampers Parliament’s ability to effectively exercise its oversight role over the government.
He further said Parliament relies heavily on the reports generated by the Auditor General to identify areas of inefficiency and wasteful expenditure.
Without these vital reports, Parliament is left in the dark and unable to hold the government accountable for its spending decisions, he said.
