Justicia Shipena
The office of the President paid for the accommodation and meals of a non-government employee during a September 2023 trip to Paris.
This was one of several irregular expenses flagged in the latest audit report by Auditor General Junias Kandjeke for the financial year ending 31 March 2024.
Kandjeke’s office also detected what appears to be a double payment of nearly N$1 million linked to the same trip.
The report does not mention who was on the trip and for which purpose.
However, during that period, the late president Hage Geingob made a technical stopover in Paris between 14 and 25 September, where he delivered a lecture at Sciences Po.
The report further raised concerns about the management of official credit cards.
On several foreign missions in 2023, a total of N$93 180 was withdrawn from the Office’s credit card and used as gratuities for members of the president’s security and protocol team. Auditors found no proof or signatures showing that the listed individuals actually received the money.
Approval for these payments was only given in April 2024, long after the trips in June, July, August, and November had taken place. Kandjeke said the absence of a clear policy on credit card use has created loopholes.
In one case, a cardholder who received US$5,000 (about N$93 000) for a trip to Russia only spent US$4,000 (about N$74 000).
Kandjeke said no evidence was provided to show that the remaining US$1 000, worth about N$17 970, was ever returned. The audit also shows that N$24 227.56 was paid for accommodation based on a quotation rather than an invoice, with no proof of payment submitted.
Beyond credit card use, Kandjeke flagged unaccounted travel advances. He said subsistence and travel advances worth N$299 957.10 remained outstanding.
Some staff members carried forward unpaid balances into new trips instead of settling them in full, a practice that breaches treasury rules.
“The electronic fund transfer suspense account also showed an unexplained credit balance of N$328 676.66 at year-end, which should have been cleared,” Kandjeke noted.
The report also revealed recurring issues that were raised in the previous year’s audit but left uncorrected.
For the second year in a row, entertainment allowances were wrongly paid from the daily subsistence allowance (DSA) subdivision.
“Allowances for the current and former First Ladies were processed through staff members’ DSA claims, despite no policy authorising such payments. The office had previously promised to reallocate the costs to the correct account but has continued with the same practice,” Kandjeke stated.
Another unresolved issue is the absence of a disaster recovery policy and plan.
Kandjeke said the office of the president still lacks a strategy to ensure continuity of operations in the event of a disaster or disruption.
The accounting officer previously agreed with the finding and pledged to benchmark with other offices to develop such a plan during the 2024/25 financial year.
Kandjeke has now warned that this gap leaves the office exposed to risks.
While he issued a qualified audit opinion, meaning the overall statements were fairly presented except for the highlighted issues. Kandjeke stressed that the findings reveal serious weaknesses in financial control.
He urged the Office of the President to take immediate corrective actio to improve accountability and compliance.
