Fresh audit exposes COVID spending chaos

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 | 650 Views |

About P420 million in non-COVID spending under the COVID-19 Fund; a P8 million payment for a botched contract; a ministry Christmas party, boat cruises and game drives in Kasane, are just some of the irregular spending picked by the Auditor General in the latest report on public finances.

The Auditor General’s latest report, tabled in Parliament a week and a half ago, paints a disturbing picture of misspending of the COVID-19 Fund, the central wallet into which government, the private sector, donors and well-wishers poured funds during the pandemic.

The Auditor General’s previous report on pandemic-era spending was limited to the first eight months of COVID-19 being declared a public health emergency, but it did show shambolic preparations and inflated tenders.

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