BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO
FINDINGS of the Office of the Auditor General uncovered that Ministry of Health and Medical Services documentation management was inconsistent, with some documents not able to be found.
OAG audited the accounts of Ministry of Health and Medical Services and discovered that signatures of authorising officers varied from document to document and handwritten changes to documents after signature.
OAG when carrying out the audit recommended to MHMS that where significant errors are made in documentation MHMS should ensure that documentation should is recreated and reauthorised rather than being changed by hand and copies of all key documents which support payments are maintained in the Ministry.
“MHMS should ensure that key signatures have been verified before documentation is sent to Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MoFT) for payment,” the OAG report says.
Ministry of Health and Medical Services in response to OAG says their management has agreed to the recommendations and has proposed to do the following:
“· The MHMS will comply by taking a sample of all key signatures of the accountable officers in the ministry.
· The ministry will through the offices of the HODs, Accounts and Procurement, will address this. Where major errors are noted, the request will be cancelled and instruction will be given to recreate and re submit proposal.
· The ministry through workshops and conferences and supervisory tours and on a one to one basis with officers will remind officers of this recommendation,” OAG report stated.
