Auditor General Reports K1.3 Billion Revenue Surplus, Flags Internal Control Weaknesses

The Office of the Auditor General says the actual revenue collected for the financial year ended 31st December 2023 exceeded the estimated revenue by K1,310,220,536.83, attributed to over-collection on Income Tax, Levies, Fines, Licences, Commissions, Other Revenues, Multilateral Grants and Domestic Financing.

According to the report, total revenue amounted to K218.4 billion against expenditure of K216.3 billion, resulting in a net surplus of K2.1 billion, with the Auditor General issuing an unqualified audit opinion that the financial report of the Republic was fairly presented in accordance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standard Cash Basis and Central Government Accounting Policies.

The report has highlighted weaknesses in internal controls across Ministries, Provinces and Agencies, including failure to collect Government revenue due to poor enforcement of financial regulations and inadequate tracking mechanisms, non-compliance with Government circulars and store regulations, failure to adhere to procurement procedures including procurements made outside the e-GP system, poor record keeping and unsupported payments, and failure to regularly update the staff establishment register.

Other findings include misallocation of payroll where officers drew salaries from stations where they were not assigned, failure to define salary scales, failure to insure Government motor vehicles, failure to remit statutory contributions such as pensions and taxes, and failure to monitor and enforce guidelines in the distribution of farming inputs under the Farmer Input Support Programme, Food Security Pack and Sustainable Agriculture Financing Facility.