Smit calls for investigation into missing funds

POPULAR Democratic Movement (PDM) parliamentarian Nico Smit wants all discrepancies cited by the auditor general in his reports to be investigated by the police.

Smit said this on Tuesday in the National Assembly when he was motivating his motion on the standard of financial reporting by ministries, offices, agencies, local authorities and parastatals.

He said often when the minister of finance tables reports on financial mismanagement, fraud and other discrepancies in the National Assembly, no action is taken against the culprits.

Smit suggested that reports revealing possible dishonesty or negligence should be referred to the Namibian Police’s commercial branch for investigation so that any person responsible for negligence, theft or fraud could be brought to book.

“If you are unwilling to demand that this mandate be implemented, then you must live with the consequences of which the most important are that the government is bleeding and that the crippled economy will continue to limp forward having to borrow more and more,” he said.

Parliament must support the Ministry of Finance in its efforts to get rid of financial mismanagement by implementing standards to reward whistleblowers for their information, Smit said.

“If we are prepared to strengthen the position of the finance ministry by allowing it to pay money to those who report dishonesty or negligence, this wastage will disappear in a short time,” he said.

He added: “If the lazy or the incompetent or the dishonest know they run the risk of being exposed by their colleagues, the level of financial custodianship will be elevated overnight.”

The opposition legislator said a practical system is required to rectify the current situation, and it can only be done if those responsible are brought to justice.

“Year after year the majority of the audit reports are qualified, some through issues that can be resolved, but a very large number by issues that must be investigated. Still nothing is done and the process of bleeding the government’s financial resources continues,” he said.

Smit said on every occasion parliament approves of qualified audit reports, it signals to the responsible entities it is acceptable and that the institutions can continue with their financial mismanagement.

“In fact, you relieve them of their accountability. This makes this august house an accomplice to the loss of billions of taxpayers’ money every year,” he said.

Rally for Democracy and Progress leader Mike Kavekotora said state resources should be utilised prudently and parliament should introduce punitive methods to deal with those who abuse state financial resources to mitigate the problem.

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