Rf 32.3 million approved as budget for Auditor General

The Parliament approved a budget of Rf 32.3 million today for the Auditor General’s Office for 2012, a sum recommended by the Ministry of Finance as opposed to Rf 48.1 million suggested by the Auditor General’s Office.

The budget for the Auditor General’s Office was reviewed by the Financial Committee of the Parliament and approved by the unanimous vote of 69 out of 72 members present at the Parliament meeting today.

Mr Abdul Gafoor Moosa, member of the Financial Committee and North Kulhudhuffushi zone said during the presentation of the Financial Committee’s report to the Parliament that the initial budget proposed by the Auditor’s General’s Office was Rf 71 million. This amount was considered too large and revised to Rf 62 million.

This budget was reviewed by a sub-committee who reduced the proposed amount for a new office building, as well as cut down the number of employees at the Audit office, which resulted in the proposal of a budget of Rf 48.1 million by the sub-committee to the Financial Committee, continued Mr Gafoor.

He also stated that the budget of Rf 32.3 million was approved by the Financial Committee on the condition that, should the Auditor’s Office require the Rf 15 million necessary to bring the sum up to Rf 48.1 million, this will be facilitated after a review by the Ministry of Finance and Parliament.

“The decision by the Financial Committee is according to the sum proposed by the Ministry of Finance, which is Rf 32.3 million. At the same time, should the need arise for the difference of Rf 15 million necessary to reach the amount of Rf 48.1 million as approved by the sub-committee, even though not included in the budget, will be made available to the Auditor General’s Office after discussion and review by the Ministry of Finance and Parliament. This has been unanimously approved by the Committee,” said Gafoor.

The reduction of the budget for the Auditor General’s Office was criticized by several members during the discussion of the report by the Financial Committee.

Member of the Financial Committee and Vilufushi Zone Riyaz Rasheed said that the government opposed the approval of the budget as initially proposed by the Auditor’s Office. The current government has continuously opposed facilitating a reasonable budget to institutions which ensures that the government acts responsibly, such as the Auditor General’s Office.

“The fact of the matter is that the government opposed the budget proposed by the Auditor General’s Office. This is rather worrying. Not giving enough money to institutions which checks on the government’s actions has been ongoing since the beginning of the current government. Refusing the budget for the Auditor General’s office is what members of MDP wants,” Riyaz said.

Ahmed Saleem, parliament member for Eydhafushi zone said that the Auditor General’s office needs to be in a strong position in order to defend the huge sum proposed as government’s budget for next year. To achieve this, the Auditor General’s office should be granted the budget they require.

“This is not a small budget we are about to approve. According to some people it is 14 billion, according to others it is 17 billion. Not even the 77 members in the parliament are aware of the real amount. In order to defend such a huge budget, the Auditor General’s office must be made strong. They should be granted the money they need. Money invested in institutions such as Auditor General’s office or Anti-corruption Commission is money well-invested, because if corruption can be reduced, we gain ten times more than the money invested in these institutions. If Auditor General’s office is granted Rf 60 million, they will help save Rf 1 billion from ending up in the hands of these “thieves”,” Saleem said.

The Audit Law states that, to ensure the independence of the Auditor General and Auditor General’s office, a plan including the planned activities for the year and a budget to support these activities should be sent to the respective committee of the Parliament 90 days prior to the beginning of every financial year. The committee should then review this budget, amend it as it deems necessary, and propose it to the Parliament along with a report.