In the joint sitting of the Parliament held today, the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC),  Hon. Phuentsho Rapten, Eminent Member in the National Council,  presented the certification of the Annual Financial Statements, irregularities by categories, resolved and unresolved irregularities by categories, resolved and unresolved irregularities by agencies, and the Committee’s observations and recommendations.

The Committee observed that these irregularities have become systemic across agencies, consistently appearing in every Annual Audit Report (AAR). For the Fiscal Year 2022-23, frequently observed irregularities include Nu.389.08 million for outstanding public works advances, Nu.235.91 million for excess payments, Nu.156.49 million for wasteful expenditure, Nu.39.66 million for non-imposition of royalty, fines, and penalties, and Nu.21.92 million for inadmissible payments, among other instances.

The Chairperson proposed three recommendations of the Committee in addition to the seven recommendations made by the RAA to the House.

The Committee recommended that:

·         The Government to develop a strategy to address the syndrome of frequently appearing irregularities such as making excess payment, booking expenses without completing execution of works, making inadmissible payment, non-levying of liquidated damages, etc. to enhance due diligence and internal control mechanism.

·         The Government in consultation with the RCSC to review the existing HR gaps across all sectors by different professional groups, and to ensure timely replacement given that it is crucial in light of human resource constraints and the substantial capital budget increase in the 13th FYP.

·         The Government to expedite the policy decision over dam or barrage option at the earliest with the relevant counterpart to ensure that the underground power house and the erected electro-mechanical equipment do not pose challenge during the testing and commissioning of the PHPA-I.

During the discussions, members stressed the need for better coordination and strategy to address the ongoing problems. They highlighted the urgent need for the government to fight rising fraud and corruption by holding responsible people to account. Concerns were also raised about long-standing issues like excess payments and inefficiencies in public spending, as well as problems in cluster engineering leading to heavy workloads and high staff turnover. Stakeholder discussions are crucial for reforming the system and finding solutions.

 The House unanimously endorsed the first two recommendations made by the Committee through show of hands. The deliberation will be continued tomorrow.