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Auditor General’s prosecution powers long overdue
2006-02-08 07:48:15
By Editor
The establishment of the Controller and Auditor General’s office (CAG) by an Act of Parliament was a well-meaning move.
This sensitive institution is supposed to verify public expenditure as authorized by the parliament during the budget session.
However, for many years, the CAG Act has been regarded by analysts as a toothless bulldog, because civil servants, who have been so regularly implicated in misappropriation of public monies, walk away scot-free.
Once the report is out, the tradition is to present the account to parliament for discussion.
Then, officers incriminated in embezzlement of public funds would be interrogated, but the outcome of the proceedings would not be made public. Eventually, the CAG story would be shelved and buried for good.
This somewhat shaky practice has its foundation in the nature of the CAG Act, which lacks corresponding rules and regulations empowering it to book suspected culprits.
The law is also silent as to who should make a follow up, arrest and prosecute suspects in the courts, and if possible, ensure recovery of stolen funds.
Hence, because embezzlers of public money know for sure they will escape this incapacitated arm of the law, even after being identified by the CAG, they see no incentive to reform themselves. For the embezzlers in government, it remains business as usual.
Billions of shillings public money is routinely mishandled as if the public management system had decided to bite its own bullet.
What a dangerous path in strengthening the rule of law for good governance!
The new President Jakaya Kikwete seems to be determined to scrap this public rot by giving CAG the legal teeth to bite.
The point is, good intentions are like a baby crying in church, they must be acted on straight away.
The relevant legal instruments need to be enacted immediately, for everything has to be institutionalized.
That way, for the dishonest public finance accountants, heads would start to roll, having known before hand that the possibility of joining the fraternity of those behind bars if they are found guilty.
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