Auditor-General Junias Kandjeke is distressed over the lack of accountability at the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS). This is the picture that can be deduced from his latest audit report on the books of the MoHSS. The ministry’s report for the 2018/2019 financial year (FY) was submitted to the National Assembly for scrutiny by Finance Minister Ipumbu Shiimi this week. Reigning supreme among Kandjeke’s concerns are over-expenditure, unauthorised spending, unaccounted vehicles and double payments of invoices to service providers. Between the 2014/2015 and 2018/2019 financial years, the ministry cumulatively overspent its budget by N$888 million on its main divisions. When broken down, during the 2014/2015 FY, the ministry’s budget was overspent by N$5,9 million. This figure would skyrocket during the 2015/2016 financial period when the ministry exceeded its budget by N$339 million. In 2016/2017, its over-expenditure stood at N$281 million. During the next financial year, N$157 million was spent without Treasury authorisation in terms of Section 6 (a) of the State Finance Act. The following financial year is 2018/2019 in which the ministry overspent N$105 million. The ministry’s subdivisions were exceeded with an amount of N$789 million during the same period. Further, the audit found that 33 companies doing work for MoHSS were paid double with a total amount of N$10,8 million. “These companies were paid in duplicate during the 2016/2017, 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 financial years… it is recommended that the accounting officer [executive director] should ensure that those companies that were paid double pay back and ensure segregation of duties as control measures are put in place,” Kandjeke says in the report. More so, the barrage of flaws in the ministry’s accounting processes increases with each page of the report. The ministry’s officials informed the auditors that it had 1 951 vehicles on hand as at 31 March 2019. This is despite the fact that the master list of all vehicles owned by the ministry indicates that it owns 2 002 vehicles. This means 51 vehicles are unaccounted for. “The accounting officer has not been reporting accurate information on vehicles on hand for the past four financial years, in respect of the total number of vehicles owned by the ministry,” Kandjeke complains. The ministry’s accounting officer, Ben Nangombe, agreed with Kandjeke’s findings, indicating that the ministry was in the process of verifying the master list and the actual number of vehicles on hand. Nangombe could not shed light on the issues raised by Kandjeke when contacted for comment on Wednesday as he was attending meetings. (NAMPA)