The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Economy was called off midway through a public hearing at Keetmanshoop after the municipality's top administrators failed to provide satisfactory responses and supporting documents related to irregularities flagged in the audit reports. 

The hearing was focused on reviewing the irregularities identified in the Keetmanshoop municipality's audit reports for the financial years ending in June 2020 and 2021. 

Both audit reports received an adverse audit opinion. 

This means that the municipality's financial statements are misrepresented, misstated, and do not provide a trustworthy account of its financial outcomes and stability.

"If we are putting a query forth, we want everything that the auditors did not get during the audit. Or if we don't get it, there should be an explanation of why we are not getting it," said Peter Kazongominja, Chairperson of the Public Accounts and Economy Committee.

It also transpired that the municipality failed to submit audit reports to the Auditor-General's Office since 2022, and only last week did it send a letter notifying the office of the backlog, without providing any explanation. 

In response to the auditor's management letter, the municipality's political office bearers resolved in January last year that a plan of action should be developed to address irregularities flagged in the audit reports. 

However, no such plan has been formulated to date.

The committee's chairperson demanded answers from the acting CEO, Gregorius Andries, as to why the action plan had not been developed yet. 

"I was still a very fresh baby in the position. I was appointed on 16 January 2024 as an acting, and the acting is for a three-month period. So, I need to be guided by heads; I need to be guided by the financial people. So, even IPSAS was new to me. The whole account was new to me, so I am still crawling to understand the whole concept," responded Andries.

The committee directed the administrators to review the audit reports and compile all supporting documents in preparation for a follow-up engagement to be held before September of this year. 

It also expressed dismay at the absence of the municipality's political office bearers at the hearing. 

The acting CEO revealed that the political office bearers are attending a workshop in Swakopmund.