Friday15th November 2024 Port Moresby – Transparency International PNG (TIPNG) has highlighted that the majority of public bodies have failed to submit annual financial statements, as required under the Public Finances (Management) Act 1995 (as amended). Many have failed to provide reports for multiple years.
As the nation of Papua New Guinea is almost halfway to the next National General Election, TIPNG is calling on the Members of Parliament and the Department of Finance to support the Auditor General’s Office (AGO) in making a commitment to ensuring public audit reports are submitted and tabled in Parliament, as a measure to improve the accountability of these entities in spending public money.
TIPNG’s “ACCOUNTABILITY SCORECARD” uses publicly available information from the Report of the Auditor General Part IV*, of which 132 public bodies are recorded. Shockingly, from the list, eighty (80) public bodies had not submitted their 2022 financial statements to be audited, in addition to 183 financial statements for 2021 and prior years have not been submitted to the AGO for audit. This trend reflects a serious lack of financial management of public funds and represents a direct violation of the Public Finances (Management) Act 1995 (as amended), Section 47L provision on Reports and Financial Statements.
Chairman of TIPNG, Mr Peter Aitsi, “TIPNG calls on public bodies and statutory authorities to check their score on the Scorecard and work with the Department of Finance and the Auditor General’s Office to ensure the provision of timely, accessible, and accurate public audit reports. The Government must ensure that our public accounts are in order and made available to the public. This is critical if we are serious about keeping our officials accountable in their performance and responsibilities”.
To further ensure accountability in the public sector, TIPNG calls for:
• The Department of Personnel Management, Public Accounts Committee and other responsible ac-tors must take swift and decisive action to hold government entities accountable for breaches of law.
• Parliament must consider the Auditor General’s recommendation for the establishment of legislative requirements to make renewal of contracts of Chief Executive Officers subject to the timely submission of financial statements and prudent financial management.
• All Papua New Guineans must demand greater accountability from our government and report any corrupt acts that they encounter.
• The Finance Secretary to establish and oversee internal audit committees in public bodies and entities that fail to meet their reporting obligations. As is the Secretary’s authority under Section 4(6) of the Public Finances (Management) Act 1995 (as amended).
TIPNG urges the Government of Papua New Guinea and all public bodies to foster a culture of integrity and accountability by prioritizing transparency, ensuring timely financial reporting, and upholding the law to safeguard public trust and the responsible use of public funds.
1. *Report of the Auditor General 2022 Part IV
2. 2024 Full TIPNG Accountability Scorecard
