Forensic Audit starts off with CMS, WUC, BPC, police

Pauline Dikuelo | Tuesday April 22, 2025 13:15

This week, the Vice President and Minister of Finance, Ndaba Gaolathe emphasised that the audits are not merely symbolic gestures.

“These are forensic audits, reflecting government’s unwavering commitment to transparency, accountability and value for money,” he said, speaking at the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority brand launch.

Batswana are eagerly awaiting the forensic audit, as many believe the past decade was fraught with wastage, abuse and widescale theft of public funds.

Taxpayers’ frustrations are valid given that the last publicly available audit of public spending was for the year ended March 2021, nearly a full four financial years ago.

That last report, like many others, contained evidence of millions of Pula misspent, wasted, abused or under-utilised, alongside the perennial trend of poor record-keeping across government’s vast footprint, a fact that hides other losses.

Gaolathe’s remarks about the audit starting at the CMS, echo recent statements made by the Minister for State President, Moeti Mohwasa, who raised the possibility of government of adopting a ‘zero fleet’ policy as a way of reducing both wastage and losses in the vehicle management system.

Speaking to Mmegi in a recent interview, Mohwasa suggested that some public servants could use private vehicles and receive an allowance instead of relying on government –owned vehicles.

This, he said would significantly reduce maintenance costs and vehicle repair expenses while also curbing theft and misuse of government assets.

“Right now government pays a lot of money towards maintenance on its infrastructure and even in terms of repairs of vehicles, but there is theft that arises out of that. “People are actually looting on the government fleet and at any given time, you find probably 30% or more of the govt fleet that’s not functioning,” he said.

The $4.3million (about P60million) forensic audit, being conducted by Dubai-based firm, Alvarez & Marza, is scheduled to be completed by December 2025. The assessment will be executed in two phases with the first involving the firm developing a comprehensive forensic audit plan and project framework including a risk assessment and mapping of government departments, agencies and state-owned enterprises. The objective is to identify and assess corruption and fraud risks across ministries, state owned entities and oversight bodies.

Phase 2 will involve conducting up to 30 detailed forensic audits based on the findings from Phase 1.

“I encourage the public to hold the PPRA accountable because when procurement fails, it is the people especially the children waiting for textbooks and the patients needing medicine, who suffer,” said Gaolathe. Meanwhile, Gaolathe said the new PPRA was expected to play its part in ensuring that public funds are optimally utilised.

Gaolathe highlighted that the PPRA, previously known as the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board, had previously failed to perform its vital role.

“The era has ended, “he said. “We now regard that PPRA not as a peripheral administrative body, but as a strategic cornerstone of Botswana’s economic future.”

Officials said the launch of the PPRA brand and 2024-2028 strategic plan marks the beginning of a transformational journey as it is the institutional embodiment of a new Botswana, one determined to eliminate inefficiencies, plug financial eliminate leakages and recover the lost billions through weak procurement systems.

The strategic plan aims to establish a sustainable and inclusive public procurement framework to be adopted by all procuring entities, procurement practitioners and contractors by 2028.

Gaolathe noted that the Authority alongside other oversight institutions has already launched comprehensive audits of major public projects.

He said the rebirth of the PPRA reflects values and a collective resolve to prioritise honesty over expedience, excellence over shortcuts and the public good over private gain.