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Botswana: Officers Misappropriate Public Funds
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The Voice (Francistown)
13 May 2008
Posted to the web 13 May 2008
Tebagano Ntshole
Gaborone
Misappropriation of public funds and tardiness in record keeping and theft are costing tax payers huge amounts of Pula each year says Auditor General's report.
According to the report in some of the cases that involved possible theft includes money from the Department of Social Services. The report says P162 355 was stolen in Tutume, as evidenced by damaged windows and burglar bars and the safe was found not to have been locked.
Of the amount, it says P133 417 was discovered at the paying officer's house and the officer, while being investigated for prosecution was not immediately indicted or taken away from the performance of his duties but was instead transferred to another office.
Another officer who failed to account for the missing P7 573 was subsequently interdicted but released.
The audit report indicates that there was no indication of disciplinary action against the officer and the money was never recovered.
In Lobatse, the report says, a paying officer withdrew P112 038 for the purpose of paying beneficiaries but some unknown persons forcibly took the keys from her and stole P76 478 from the office.
In Sowa, the paying officer withdrew P177 482 from the bank to pay beneficiaries but had only paid P11 412 when some unknown persons took the keys from her and made away with the balance of P166 070 which had been kept overnight in the office.
Seven suspects were arrested and P35 135 and cash box have been recovered and are held as exhibits.
In Gumare, P128 337 was stolen and two suspects have been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, while the two vehicles and cattle bought with the stolen money are to be sold by public action.
The government has also applied for compensation.
A revenue officer at the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Ghanzi had not accounted for funds collected between April 2006 and May 2007 and a scrutiny of the books indicated that a total of P90 950 had been collected but the cash could not be produced.
The matter was reported to the police as a possible case of misappropriation and the auditor general states that "it is equally of some concern that the Treasury Cashier, who has supervisory role over revenue collectors had allowed this situation to prevail over such a long time period of time which resulted in this state of affairs."
A cash box belonging to Tobane Customary Court had been seized by the Mmadinare customary court in connection with missing Village Development Committee funds since December 2005.
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According to the report, no money has been collected and no action had been taken to regularise the situation by appointment of another revenue collector or interdict the revenue collector if she was suspected to have been implicated in any loss of public funds. BOPA
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