In her latest report, the Auditor General notes that the abundance of funds from road traffic fines “led to misuse by the making of advances to other services of government”. The most damning part in the report is the fact that Government diverted P15million in road fines to pay Ipelegeng workers.
Whilst this phenomenon of diverting funds is not new, it is increasingly becoming a disturbing trend. The issue of diverting funds goes deeper and way back to 2008 just when the incumbent President, Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama, rose to the pinnacle of Botswana politics. Even though, no mention is made of the legality or otherwise of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services in 2008, startling revelations are made of how the hasty inception of that country’s secret service, on the eve of Khama’s ascension to the highest office, led to the diversion of close to P12.4 million in the accounts of the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) from its intended use. This is because there was no accounting code for an otherwise nonexistent department.
So far, government through the Ministry of Presidential Affairs used over P40million of tax payers’ money for purposes of replenishing the National Disaster Relief Fund that was dented by the establishment of DISS in 2008.
These are just two examples, amongst many, which testify to government’s schemes of diverting funds from their intended use to fund other ancillary activities. By diverting funds, Government is setting a dangerous precedent which is likely to become pervasive and foster corruption and criminality. Dr President Khama as the Head of State must be careful not to assume the role of presiding over such inconsistencies as opposed to averting it.
Government allocated P580.6 million for the Ipelegeng programme in 2014 and P635.6 million in 2015, being amongst the single biggest funded items in the successive budgets. Whilst the Auditor General noted that the funding from the road traffic fines had been made while waiting for availability of fund disbursement for the Ipelegeng budget, what is of concern is the way the funds have been reimbursed, if at all they were.
The recent Attorney General’s report sheds light on the unquestionable dealings inside government to the detriment of the citizenry. The report shows that the Treasury officials diverted P14.7 million in funds from road traffic fines to pay Ipelegeng workers in 2014. Sadly, according to the report, during the financial year ended March 31, 2015, only P71, 200 was reimbursed, with another P5.4 million reimbursed before that.
Batswana expect their tax to be channelled to their intended purpose and they expect transparency from the government. Fund diversion by the government not only undermines the trust Batswana have in our elected officials, it also damages our international reputation – a reputation which has sadly been dwindling in recent years, reflected in various surveys.
Under no circumstances should funds designated for certain governmental services be plundered to support the government’s own political interests. Batswana will rightly view this decision as a sleight of hand, not least because it is driven by a desperate political imperative.
The move also sets a dangerous precedent. What other surprises does the government have in store for us? And at the end of the day, will we be able to say that Botswana does what it says ÔÇô that it is committed to ethical financial practices.
So it’s disheartening to now see some ministers forced to defend the indefensible. Whatever side of the political divide you may find yourself a part of and no matter what you may have thought of Botswana politics, this arrangement is not in Botswana’s national interest. If funds are siphoned from their intended programs, it could literally mean the difference between life and death for some important development programs – programs that save lives and transform communities.
Which programs will be stalled while funds are shuffled? Given the raging drought gripping large swathes of Southern Africa, should the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) stall to give the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS) precedence?
Now more than ever, Botswana should be displaying leadership on a world scale, not playing a petty game of politics. This is not an either/or debate. Botswana is a relatively strong economy compared to other emerging economies.
Apart from this system fostering corruption as the Attorney General’s report rightly pointed out, it also causes the pace of good governance to slow down because of the plundering of public coffers by government functionaries.
If the government is genuine in wanting to deliver set targets in various services of government, then it needs to be disciplined enough to leave money designated for various services of government alone. And apart from the obvious issue of diverting funds, our programmes need predictability. Let’s hope the government ruminates on these factors and bring coherence and consistency in policy making.
