The decision by Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) to order for a forensic audit of all processes within the public sector and State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) is a welcome one.
The ruling party’s position we understand is to ascertain if there were no excesses by the previous Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) regime led by Mokgweetsi Masisi. The BDP had until last year been in power for the past 58 years before it lost the 13th General Election to the UDC.
President Duma Boko reiterated the position of his government, which inherited almost ‘empty’ State coffers from the previous regime, this week to find out how public funds were spent previously.
Although we are not privy to the terms of reference yet, it would be ideal if such were made public timeously so that Batswana who stand to be the beneficiary of such endeavour are well informed about the process.
Mr. President, it will also be important to transparently tell your people who the auditors are at the earliest possible time. Your people should be able to scrutinise the reputation of the auditors so that the taxpayer’s money does not go down an abyss.
Mr. President, we will stand by your government’s endeavours as long as you are not going to use the forensic audit to persecute your nemesis in the BDP as we know the embarrassment you suffered at their hands.
Yes, for a country that has been so stable fiscally for the longest time because of her prudent fiscal policies it’s indeed shocking that Botswana could be struggling to meet some of her obligations now.
Recent revelations made in Parliament that the Ministry of Health alone owes private hospitals over P1.5 billion are shocking.
Considering that such private facilities are in business for best reasons, there is no justification as to why they should be suffering after rendering their services to government.
This has the potential to cripple the operations of such facilities and send them totally out of business. We know the government is struggling to pay.
We have also learnt that a majority of the government ministries are indebted to the private sector something that might have dire consequences on the survival of such enterprises.
If the forensic audit is meant to cure the financial troubles besieging the state of government coffers and doubtful procedures and processes that could have been used to bleed the government, we fully support it. If at the end you make those in the wrong accountable, let it be.
Mr. President, you should also promise us that your government will implement the recommendations from the audits.
By implementing the advice from the experts to address the problems identified in the government systems, we are of the view it could lead to the recovery money, property and others that were ‘stolen’.
We also challenge you to stick to your word that you don’t prefer the Presidential Commission of Inquiry, as it will centre all the decision-making powers upon you. We plead with you to widen your net. Finally, we applaud your government for delivering a promise you long put before the people.
‘Forensic accounting is about the truth. Honesty, integrity and ethics are essential.”- Anonymous