African auditors seek autonomy

Auditor Generals (AGs) from 26 English-speaking African countries have resolved to push for their independence and embrace digitisation to hold their governments accountable.

They made the resolution at the 20th Governing Board Meeting and 2024 Strategic Review yesterday. The three-day engagement that took place in Kampala, ended yesterday.

The AGs under their umbrella body, the African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI), said being independent of political interference and accessing full funding will enable them to audit their governments and avert misuse of taxpayers’ money.

Uganda’s AG John Muwanga in a speech read by his deputy Stephen Katerrega said the independence of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) is critical if they are to perform their duties.

“Our workers have now moved away from merely scrutinizing financial statements; now it is about safeguarding the trust of the public and effective use of taxpayers’ resources, to deliver the expected output and outcome,” he said.

They resolved to ensure they push their governments to enact and enforce robust legal and institutional frameworks that guarantee their independence, autonomy and effectiveness.

“Our roles as auditors are now critical than ever particularly in the face of evolving social economic landscapes and emerging global challenges such as devastating climate change, and increasing public debt, among other challenges,” Ms Nancy Gathungu, the AFROSAI Governing Board chairperson, who is also the AG of Kenya, said.

AFROSAI member countries are Uganda, Angola, Botswana, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The body, which was founded in 1976, aims to bring together AGs from these countries so that they share different ideas and best practices to improve how they audit their respective governments.

“Across the region, we are developing our capacities, some of our institutions are more developed than others. We are doing a lot of peer-to-peer support because some institutions are more advanced than others. In Uganda, for example, they have done a lot of forensic, special audits, they have arrangements with Parliament that are offering support and we are borrowing from that to take back to our parliaments to consider putting such measures,” Ms Gathungu said.

During the three-day deliberations, members also discussed avenues of fully digitising the auditing process to ensure government agencies fully account for public funds.

In her keynote address to the AGs, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Dr Aminah Zawedde, said the future of auditing lies in harnessing the power of technology to improve efficiency and accountability for timely service delivery.

Relatedly, the Head of Public Service Lucy Nakyobe told the AGs that embracing technology will not only ease their work but also ensure the agencies are held accountable thus improving service delivery.

“There is need for you to embrace innovation processes such that you maximise the data analytics, digital audit tools and online reporting platforms to enhance audit efficiency, effectiveness and transparency and improve on your stakeholder engagement and communication,” she said

Ms Nakyobe added: “Monitor service delivery to ensure that government agencies and departments are fulfilling their mandates and obligation to citizens by assessing the quality, accessibility and responsiveness of public service, this will help to enhance service delivery outcome and effectiveness in meeting the citizens’ needs.”

She further appealed to them to put more effort into evaluating the performance of government programmes, projects because this she said will help them to identify gaps and weaknesses, and areas for improvements and also provide valuable insights into the effectiveness and efficiency that will impact on public service.

 “You are a big pillar for ensuring accountability, transparency and good governance in the management and oversight of public funds, you play a vital role in the prevention and fight against corruption. And contribute to the ecosystem of the budgetary role in the financial sector. The reports and recommendations you make annually serve as crucial tools for holding governments accountable from your stewardship of public resources,” Ms Nakyobe said.

Engaging civil society organisations

The Auditor Generals also resolved to engage civil society organisations so that they ease the information flow.

Mr Julius Mukunda, the executive director of the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (Csbag) said most auditors always remain at district headquarters yet the people affected by poor service delivery are on the ground.

“We the CSOs are always on the ground so if you work with us, for example, I will take a photo of a damaged bridge and send it to the auditor by the time they come on the ground, they are aware of the situation,” he said.

 Going forward, Ms Gathungu said AFROSAI will engage CSOs, fully embrace technology and push for their independence both financially and from political interference to ensure that they achieve excellence and integrity.

“Let us uphold the role of institutions in promoting transparency, and accountability across the continent, let’s work together in collaborations and solidarity and utilise our full potential as catalysts to contribute to the advancement of good governance and sustainable development,” she said.

Uganda wins award

Meanwhile, Uganda was bestowed the best Performance Audit Prize for 2023. This is an award that is given to the country that produces the best report according to the Swedish National Audit Office.

Mr Anthony Kimuli, the director of audits, value for money and specialised audits at the Office of Auditor General said they produced an audit report on special needs education and made recommendations to the government. This was the third time Uganda won this prize, having won it in 2011 and 2012