Shy Of Auditing

WHATEVER the votaries of privatisation may say, public enterprises with government ownership do have a role in the context of Nepal. But it is also equally true that if examples of rank inefficiency are to be offered, many of the present public enterprises would stand out. Apart from providing much-needed service to the people in areas where private enterprises are not very willing to jump in, these public enterprises are supposed to contribute to the national exchequer too. But in most instances they are white elephants for the government. They depend on the government’s yearly dole-outs just to keep floating. Unless these public enterprises are able to pull themselves by their bootstraps, they would continue to become even greater liabilities. A news report quotes the auditor-general as saying that the chief reason why these public enterprises are not in good health has to do with their inability to have auditing done periodically. Why would the chief of a public enterprise not have the organisation he heads audited? It would sound strange if not for an obvious fact. Financial irregularities in most of the public enterprises are a norm rather than an exception. The main reason why public enterprises in general are in a shaky financial position is the massive financial irregularities that occur there. The chief of the organisation would be reluctant to have the organisation audited because of fears of being exposed.

The public enterprises chiefs are not the only ones to be blamed for this sorry state of affairs though. The blame for this situation must also be shared by officials who represent the government in the Boards of Directors of these public enterprises. They have the duty and the responsibility to report to the government if fiscal indiscipline is dogging the institution in whose Board they are serving as a representative of the government. These government representatives are apparently not up to what’s expected of them. In short, because the Boards are not pushing enough for it, public enterprises do not have audited accounts, resulting in financial indiscipline. This, in turn, led the public enterprises into the red. The lack of follow-up from these officials on the auditing requirement has had bad consequences. Therefore, they should also be held responsible for letting it be business as usual even while the managers of these public enterprises in question demonstrate extreme shyness in getting their organisations audited.

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