Hertta-Maria Amutenja
The Grootfontein municipality has come under scrutiny following revelations in the auditor general’s report highlighting a significant discrepancy of over N$8.9 million between the bank balance reported in its financial statements and the reconciled cash book balance.
During a recent public hearing convened by the parliamentary standing committee on public accounts, officials were questioned over the variance, as well as several other irregularities identified in the financial year under review.
According to the auditor general Junias Kandjeke’s findings, the financial statements for the 2019/2020 financial year reflected a bank balance of N$11.1 million.
However, the actual reconciled cash book balance stood at only N$2.2 million, creating a difference of N$8.9 million.
Committee members asked whether the municipality had investigated the reason for this discrepancy and, if so, what actions had been taken.
“Has the Council investigated the reason for the difference? If yes, provide proof,” one of the questions posed to the municipality read.
The committee further demanded documentary evidence showing the actions taken to address the matter, including the recovery of any unaccounted funds.
The committee also queried why the municipality’s finance department was still not adequately staffed despite ongoing audit recommendations.
According to the report, the finance department remained understaffed and lacked adequately trained personnel in key positions, which negatively impacted compliance with applicable laws and financial controls. The committee requested evidence of whether the municipality had since filled the critical vacancies or developed any plans to address the situation.
In another area of concern, the auditor general found that the municipality’s fixed asset register was incomplete and lacked vital information such as serial numbers, dates of purchase, or itemised descriptions.
The committee asked the municipality to submit an updated asset register and confirm whether such omissions had been corrected in subsequent years.
The hearing also revisited the finding that salary expenditures were overstated by N$320 248 due to incorrect journal entries. Questions were raised about whether corrective accounting entries had been made and if those responsible had been held accountable.
Additionally, the municipality’s trade and other receivables were found to be overstated by N$1.6 million. The committee asked for a breakdown of how this amount arose and whether it had since been corrected.
A further issue highlighted was the understatement of trade and other payables by N$2.2 million, which the committee noted could materially affect the financial position of the municipality. It sought to understand whether the Council had investigated this misstatement and what steps had been taken to correct it.
Questions were also raised regarding non-compliance with section 87(1) of the Local Authorities Act, which requires municipalities to submit annual financial statements within three months after the end of the financial year.
Grootfontein reportedly failed to meet this requirement, prompting the committee to ask for explanations and measures taken to improve compliance.
Grootfontein has previously faced governance issues.
In 2022, the then minister of urban and rural development suspended the then chief executive officer Kisco Sinvula over allegations of misconduct, although the case was later dropped due to insufficient evidence.
The public hearing is part of the standing committee’s routine examination of audit reports, aimed at ensuring public funds are properly accounted for and that local authorities implement audit recommendations.
