There may not be irregularities or corruption in the beruju itself, but as the size of the beruju increases, the citizens question the financial discipline of the state. It ultimately helps in discrediting the system itself from the state agencies.
Billions of rupees are added to the State's balance sheet in the report of the Auditor General's office which is published every year. According to the 62nd public report on Wednesday, the amount that needs to be updated is 7 trillion 33 billion and the amount that needs to be resolved has reached 5 trillion 51 billion.
In this way, up to the financial year 2079/80, the total amount was 11 trillion 83 billion 26 billion, and in 2080/81, 1 trillion 94 billion was added. Such statement clearly indicates a tendency to violate rules, laws or procedures in the expenditure or use of government funds.
s The confusion created by procedural weaknesses or lack of documentation can and has been easily spread. However, the confusion created by deliberate weakness is not only unusual, but also a sign of irregularity and corruption.
The Accounts General's report has documented many details of both these situations. In this background, it is necessary to discuss the reasons for the creation of beruzu and the measures to find the mitigation measures.
The Office of the Auditor General conducted an audit of 94 trillion 62 billion 36 million rupees in 5 thousand 759 entities and offices under the financial year 2080/81. During the audit of 31 trillion 6 billion 16 billion of 3 thousand 93 offices towards federal ministries and subordinate agencies, 47 billion 74 billion was found to be unaccounted for.
In the audit of 1,165 offices under the state government, 4.2 billion was found to be unaccounted for. Similarly, in the audit of 11 trillion 18 billion 40 million of 761 offices under the local level, 25 billion 32 million is missing.
5 trillion 22 billion 13 crores of 695 public institutions/development committees and 44 trillion 7 billion 4 crore rupees of 43 organizations have been audited, 14 billion 33 crore rupees have been audited. According to the General Account, the amount to be recovered from the concerned employees and officials for one financial year is 30 billion 12 billion rupees. Similarly, 4 trillion 35 billion 22 billion revenue and debt and interest that have exceeded the budget are yet to be recovered by the Ministry of Finance and subordinate agencies.
In Section 39 (1) of the Financial Procedures and Financial Responsibility Act, it is said that "the first responsibility and liability to submit evidence related to irregularities pointed out by the audit or to regularly make or recover them shall be the responsible persons and officials involved in financial transactions".
In sub-section (2) if there is no wrongful foreclosure, the relevant accounting responsible officer will investigate and if it is found that there is a need to recover from the officials and persons involved in the financial transactions, then the wrongful foreclosure should be made. It has been said that if it is found that there has been a loss due to deliberate or negligent dealings, such unreasonable amount should be recovered from the responsible person. The
act has held the responsible person of the concerned body responsible for maintaining financial discipline. This provision should be strictly enforced. At the same time, beruju can be linked to employee performance appraisal, promotion and new responsibilities can also be made the basis of beruju, it can bring about practical changes.
The duty of the Public Accounts Committee is to examine the merits mentioned in the annual report of the Accountant General and to study and give necessary instructions regarding whether the activities carried out by the Auditor General and related agencies are legal and reasonable. The audit committee is also expected to play a proactive role in order to reduce
fraud. But the Accountant General has already submitted the 62nd report to the President, while the committee is discussing the 60th report. It seems that the speed of the committee is slow.
Beruju itself may not have irregularities or corruption, but as the size of Beruju increases, citizens question the financial discipline of the state. It ultimately helps in discrediting the system itself from the state agencies.
That's why there should be an initiative to reduce beruzu. For this, the first condition is for the concerned body to follow the law and procedure. At the same time, the regulatory body should also strengthen its role. If the process of
investigation and action can be regularized, serious irregularities will be reduced. All agencies should be honest in following the recommendations and instructions mentioned in the report of the Accountant General. If that happens, the weaknesses of the previous year will not be repeated in the following year.
