Kathmandu, Nov. 15
Financial Comptroller General's Office
(FCGO) internal audit of the Fiscal Year 2018/19 has shown that there was Rs.
17.21 billion in arrears.
It is about 1.55 per cent of the
total mobilised budget Rs. 1109 billion.
The integrated annual report of the
FCGO, submitted to Finance Minister Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada on Friday has also
found that advances equal to Rs. 30.41 billion have been mobilised, however,
they are within the due date to be cleared.
Information Officer of the FCGO
Niraj KC said that the amount was smaller than the last year's arrears shown by
the internal audit then.
"The size of arrears will go
down significantly by the time we conduct the final audit," he said.
The FCGO has submitted the report
to the FM as per the new provision of the Economic Procedures and Financial
Accountability Act, 2019 which demands that the FCGO should prepare an internal
integrated annual report every year and submit it to the Finance Minister by
mid-November.
The FCGO has submitted the report
for the first time as per the new schedule.
Accepting the report, FM Dr.
Khatiwada said that the internal audit played an important role in maintaining
economic discipline.
He said that financial
accountability, transparency and following the economic discipline were the
major aspects of the federalism implementation.
"Transparent and fair accounts
are instrumental to make the fiscal federalism a success," he said.
Dr. Khatiwada pointed towards the
need of reforms in public procurement laws, payment on the basis of work
progress and stopping early payment in order to bring down arrears to zero.
Meanwhile, speaking at another
programme organised by the GEFONT in Lalitpur on Friday, Dr. Khatiwada said
that Nepal must work to obtain the demographic dividend and should devise
better policies for the same.
"Education and skills should
go together and every youth should have an opportunity to be connected with the
production process," he said.
Prime Minister Employment Programme
was launched to provide employment to the people in need and with skills so
that they could contribute to the society and their families, he said.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 16 November 2019.
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