Fresh audit exposes COVID spending chaos

The Auditor General’s latest report, tabled in Parliament a week and a half ago, paints a disturbing picture of misspending of the COVID-19 Fund, the central wallet into which government, the private sector, donors and well-wishers poured funds during the pandemic. The Auditor General’s previous report on pandemic-era spending was limited to the first eight months of COVID-19 being declared a public health emergency, but it did show shambolic preparations and inflated tenders. “Your and my legitimacy relies on fighting corruption, discrimination and seeking justice.”– Imam KhameneiThis is laid bare in the recently released Auditor General’s report of 2023.

The report highlights that government was plundered off millions of pula in wasteful expenditure and irregular procurement at a time when the country was grappling for every thebe to save its citizens. The report reveals that millions set aside for the…