An amendment bill to the Auditor General Establishment Proclamation, passed by the House last week, means that the auditor general and deputy will not be able to serve more than two six-year terms. An explanation provided to the parliament last week was that this supports international principles and will bring fresh power to the office.
The amendment also means the two top leaders will obtain benefits after service, in addition to specifying on the job benefits and salary. The explanation also stated that the Auditor General has the responsibility to audit the annual budget, subsidies given to regions and loans provided from the federal government too. The note elaborated that unknowingly the power to audit government subsidies and loans to the regional governments was taken away previously but it is being restored now.
The establishment proclamation stated the the auditor general has the power to audit public enterprises in addition to government institutions, but it didn’t give the necessary framework on how that should be done. The office of the auditor general proposed the establishment of one independent institution to look into these enterprises.