PRIME minister Saara Kuungelwa-Amadhila says defence minister Peter Vilho will meet with president Hage Geingob and the auditor general to determine aspects of defence expenditure that can be audited.
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila was responding to questions posed by Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) parliamentarian Nico Smit in the National Assembly on Thursday.
Smit wanted to know whether the Ministry of Defence was no longer answerable to parliament.
He also questioned why the defence ministry had in 2019 barred officials from the office of the auditor general from visiting certain military bases for auditing purposes involving expenditure of up to N$500 million.
“The president is due to consult with the minister of defence and the auditor general for the purposes of auditability of the latest finances,” Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said.
Vilho last week said the National Assembly would for security reasons no longer be allowed to openly discuss the budget allocated to the Namibian Defence Force and military-related spending.
He said the budget to execute development and procurement plans would also not be discussed in parliament.
From next year the budget would be conducted according to international standards, and a parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs, defence and security would be tasked to handle discussions on it, Vilho said.
In terms of the law, the president can order the auditor general to investigate, examine and audit the accounts or financial statements of “any body, association or organisation other than a statutory institution”.
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