Audit exposes abuse, wastefulness in embassies

Findings of a National Audit Office (NAO) report covering the period 2018 to 2021 shows that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to bend public finance management rules through lack of accountability, especially in foreign missions.

The report has revealed wastefulness and abuse of public resources in missions such as Germany, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia and Mozambique both under the current Tonse Alliance administration and its predecessor Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has since described the trend as “worrying”, considering that it has provided a wide-range of recommendations to government to seal loopholes in embassies before.

PAC chairperson Mark Botomani said it is worrying that the committee’s recommendations issued in a report last year have not been implemented, leading to a recurrence of audit queries for the same issues every year.

He said the committee presented a report on the mismanagement of public resources at a number of foreign missions with several recommendations on tackling the problem.

Said Botomani: “Among the recommendations is that the Secretary to the President and Cabinet should ensure that all diplomats involved in malpractices must be made to pay back misappropriated funds as soon as practically possible, and those cases that amount to criminality should be taken up by the appropriate law enforcement agencies.”

Besides the foreign missions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters also has a share of the problem as during the year 2020/21, it did not submit payment vouchers amounting to K3.8 billion for audit. The audit also found that in 18 embassies, the ministry overspent by K2.7 billion without approval from Treasury.

On the other hand, cash amounting to K119.6 million paid as external allowances had no supporting documents in form of passports, itineraries and boarding passes for officers who received the funds to authenticate usage.

Further, the ministry failed to provide documentation to auditors how funds amounting to K402 million for the construction of a chancery in Lusaka, Zambia in 2019 were utilised.

Germany

The audit of accounts for years 2017 to 2021 in Berlin established that seven diplomats contracted for a three-year period overstayed by between two and six years despite their recall without an explanation.

Diplomats at this mission were also contravened a 2014 circular requiring staff serving in foreign missions to contribute 20 percent to their medical insurance bills, but in this case all diplomats were paid 100 percent for health insurance bills costing about  K126 million.

Another 2010 circular also abolished payment of entertainment allowance to heads of mission and their deputies,  but the audit shows that between July and September,  the embassy paid the head of mission and his deputy entertainment allowances amounting to K19 million.  

Another irregularity related to payment of foreign service allowance amounting to K53.7 million to a diplomat who was recalled in 2016 contrary to instructions from Treasury to delete from the payroll the concerned diplomat. 

Kenya

In Nairobi, there are questions on how the mission spent K114 million on rentals when the funds could have been saved if the official residence was renovated since funds were already provided for in 2020 amounting to $180 809.02 for the exercise. However, the renovations could not start after being stopped by the Department of Buildings.

Reads the report: “Between 27 February and March 5 2020, funds amounting to $6 317.38 (equivalent to K4 698 938.63) were spent on tender advertisement and bid documents for renovation of official residence.

“The mission was advised to stop the procurement process for not engaging the director of buildings in design, structural drawings, and bill of quantities for the construction.”

Ethiopia

A review of the mission’s budgets and estimates for the years under review disclosed that the mission had not been preparing revenue budgets despite collecting an accumulated amount of K104 million.

“An inspection of revenue in respect of issuance of visa stickers revealed that the mission collected revenue both in local currency but reported in kwacha and in United States dollars amounting to K104 580 418.83 and $15 170.00, respectively but had not been remitted to government account number one,” reads the audit report.

Egypt

In Egypt, the auditors are asking questions that payment vouchers totalling K134. 8 million from 2016 to 2021 were submitted without supporting documents such us invoices, claim letters and receipts “hence, the validity of such payments could not be verified”.

Botomani said one of the recommendations that PAC has put forward to government to cure abuse of resources in embassies is the recruitment of career diplomats.

A former diplomat, who did not want to be named, shared Botomani’s views that mismanagement of funds in foreign missions has everything to do with the recruitment proces where connections matter more than competency.