Secretary to the President and Cabinet Zangazanga Chikhosi says audit reports from the Auditor General’s Office will now be naming officers failing to comply with Government regulations and procedures.
Chikhosi has announced this in a circular dated 22 September, 2021 and addressed to Controlling Officers, Principal Secretaries and Heads of Department.
According to Chikhosi, the development aims at implementation of various measures instituted to promote transparency and accountability of public resources.
“It has been noted that there is recurrence of audit queries across ministries, departments and agencies due to laxity in enforcement of regulations. Please note that any such non-compliance will no longer be tolerated,” said Chikhosi.
He then directed the Auditor General to execute the changes in the audit report with immediate effect.
Reacting to the directive on social media, social commentator Onjezani Kenani said “Chikhosi means business”.
Another social media user said: “Good, that’s what we want, thieves should be exposed.”
But some commenters on Kenani’s post expressed doubt that the directive will be implemented while others expressed concern that those named in audit reports could drag Government to court for defamation.
