The report of the General Auditing Bureau (GAB), which was reviewed by the Shoura Council, uncovered the increasing number of financial violations in sectors that are subjected to debt monitoring. The report said the bureau discovered the inappropriate payment of SR3.5 billion, a sum discharged without a regular receipt during the year of the report. The financial affairs committee in the Shoura Council studied the annual report of the GAB’s achievement during 2012 and 2013, and came up with the number of violations in sectors regulated by the Diwan is growing.
The report said the bureau found observation notes in 69 percent of the final accounts for government departments. There were also observations about 86 percent of reviewed accounts and warehouses, as well as observations about 70 percent of government funds inventoried.
The report pointed out the bureau implemented field tasks to examine contracts and found observations about 93 percent of these. Observations were also found in 100 percent in the closing accounts of public establishments. Financial statements and documents for 136 companies that have government shares were reviewed and the bureau demanded the collection and supply of SR1.59 billion to the treasury from these companies.
The Financial Committee stated the repetition of these financial violations calls for identifying the roots of the problem and the reasons and loopholes behind their increase. Dealing with problems can be done by amending and developing relevant rules and regulations, or raise the competency of financial sector employees in addition to any other reasons discovered by the study.
They called on the bureau to conduct a study by professionals to uncover the reasons that cause repeated violations and come up with suitable suggestions to curtail or stop them; this was the committee’s first recommendation.
The committee agreed with the bureau's vision, which says provinces’ governors and councils should be provided with a copy of performance reports and financial statement reviews for public sectors that are under their supervision.
The fifth, seventh and eighth paragraphs of article seven of provinces’ regulations state that the province’s governor should develop public services in the area, raise its capacity and maintain the property and finances of the state, in addition to supervising government apparatuses and its employees to ensure they perform their job honestly and sincerely. These should take into account the correlation of ministry employees and other departments with their reviewers.
The committee added that the bureau's reports include violations that take place in the ministries’ branches in various provinces, and the audit performance reports which focus on objective and regular evaluation for activities,that include funds, equipment, and human resources to ensure the ideal use of all available resources and its effective use to achieve its goals.
The report said it conducted 107 performance evaluations for government sector projects and works in the Kingdom. It presented a copy of these reports to provinces’ governors and councils, to strengthen supervision of government apparatuses branches, and enable them to look into and develop their performance and reduce the number of financial violations, which was the committee’s second recommendation.
Economic and financial developments witnessed by the Kingdom during the past few years, especially in relation to the volume of government spending over programs and projects, and the government expansion in using technology, demand the speedy development of a government audit system. This will keep up with these developments and ensures the good use of public funds. Resolution number (235) was issued by Council of Ministers in 2004.
GAB questions govt departments for inappropriate spending of SR3.5bn
