Particular trepidations lie with the seemingly embedded nature of embellishing tender sums, in most cases without the barest minimum of authority. The worrying thing is that the inflated amounts run into millions of pula across the government ministries and departments. The Auditor General’s report of March ending 2022, which we cover extensively in this edition, paints a gloomy picture on management of the government coffers. It depicts the poor state of accountability and recklessness in spending patterns by the government. We see sealed and duly issued tender sums rising to scaring levels. The Auditor General has raised many questions some of which could not be properly responded to even at the recently ended parliamentary oversight body, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) by the accounting officers, reflecting a sustained recklessness in the handling of public funds.
Just under the noses of the accounting officers, tender sums were doubled and tripled, in most cases, without any reasonable cause. One of the accounting officers is subject of investigation by the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) after failing to account for an alleged embellished tender.
