OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR – GENERAL

REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA7th-10th May 2012, Hilton Hotel, Windhoek, Namibia

THE ROLE OF PERFORMANCE AUDITING AND ITS IMPACT ON GOOD GOVERNANCE

Presenter: Alan Hansen

Poor Utilization of Government Quarters

A Follow-Up Audit

A NAMIBIAN CASE STUDY

SESSION OVERVIEWBackgroundProblem MethodsMajor findingsReaction from the publicOther challengesThe way forward

BACKGROUNDInitial report was completed and tabled

in 2001PAC conducted fieldwork and presented

their report to Parliament in 2006Follow-Up Audit done during 2010/2011,

taking into consideration the initial recommendations from OAG and recommendations from the PAC

Follow-Up Report tabled in March/April 2012

BACKGROUND(Cont.)After independence the Government

continued with the housing policy that was used by the interim Government i.e. to provide accommodation for its civil servants

Housing was not a condition of service anymore, but was seen as a privilege and the housing officer also managed a waiting list system, because most civil servants were now Namibian citizens without houses

BACKGROUND(Cont.)Housing is administered and controlled by

the Department of Works for the whole Government of Namibia

It was a temporary arrangement to help civil servants who are without accommodation

The intention was that civil servants should use the housing scheme as a long-term solution to the need for housing

ProblemPoor Utilization of Government

Quarters:

No regular inspections, no inspectorsHousing subdivision has no legal mandate to evict illegal occupants or occupants operating illegal activitiesLease agreements not adhered toMaintenance is not regularly done

METHODSMainly interviews

Housing staff, occupants & housing committee members

Document reviewRules for occupationLease agreementsList of occupants Head Office vs. RegionsHousing Files

Observations of the quarters Use the list of occupants to observe the houses

MAJOR FINDINGS1. Lease agreements are not signed and distributed to

the tenants when they are allocated with a quarter2. The allocation policy is not being enforced3. Inspections of government quarters are not done

on a regular basis4. Records of the government quarters are not

updated on a regular basis and the fixed asset register does not include all the property in the regions

5. The new monthly tariffs for rent have been implemented, but not all the occupants of government quarters pay rent

MAJOR FINDINGS(Cont.)6. The Department of Works did not liaise with the

Ministry of Justice and the Attorney-General in order to obtain the legal power to evict illegal tenants

7. The follow-up audit of the Office of the Auditor-General has been done, but very few of the recommendations from the initial report and the report produced by the Public Accounts Committee have been implemented

8. There are a lot of unresolved issues with the ownership and management of government quarters that exists across the regions

REACTION FROM THE PUBLIC

During the audit, there was a lot of interest from civil servants – those benefiting and those that are in need

However, the general public’s views have not really been obtained

As with most reports, an article appeared in the newspaper

It affects a lot of people, with income low and accommodation scare, very topical issue

Overstaying in government quarters, families believe they own the property

OTHER CHALLENGESVerifying the documents, contradicting informationMeeting with the occupants – work hours, not availableUnavailability of documents/proofScanning through the files were time-consumingAreas to visit are very extensiveTook longer than projected or planned for

THE WAY FORWARDFollow-up is the only way that the work of the

auditor and its impact can be assessedMany things have remained the same since the

initial reports(OAG & PAC)PAC and OAG must monitor and request feedback

on remedial action taken by the Ministry In order to improve governance, whoever is

accountable should be held accountableContinue to provide independent assurance and

make recommendations to improve governance of our O/M/As

THANK YOUQuestions?