‘Knives and forks’ probe explained

The Rhodesia Herald, 

March 8, 1978

THE staff of the Auditor -General’s department did not arbitrarily recall a Chipinga district commissioner from patrol to answer queries on knives, forks, and spoons supplied by him to the Guard Force, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Rollo Hayman, said.

At the start of business, Mr Hayman rose to amplify answers he gave last week to Senator Sam Whaley, who made repeated efforts to tackle Mr Hayman and the Minister of combined Operations, Mr Roger Hawkins, about Lieutenant General Peter Walls’ recent public calls for better teamwork in the war effort.

Mr Hayman was questioned particularly by Senator Whaley on the Chipinga’s DC’s audit troubles, originally publicised by General Walls, the commander of combined operations.

Mr Hayman told senators that when he originally answered Senator Whaley’s questions, he had to accept certain reported facts at face value, due to the short period in which he had to prepare his reply.

Further investigations had revealed new information which must be reported to the upper house “to put the record straight”.

The minister said although the substance of his reply, to the effect that the actions arose from the staff of the Auditor-General and not from his ministry, was correct, there were matters of detail “where the position is not as has been indicated”.

In the first instance, he said, the District Commissioner had not complained directly to General Walls, but had discussed with other service units, problems he was having under present-day circumstances.

Mr Hayman said the staff of the Auditor General were “not excessively concerned about cutlery”, had conducted the audit in a reasonable manner, and had not arbitrarily recalled the District Commissioner from patrol.

The District Commissioner was sent a message whilst touring his district, advising him that the Auditor General’s staff wished to discuss the question of movable assets and he “returned of his own volition”, the Minister said.

LESSONS FOR TODAY 

 Public funds are different from personal funds. They require a very high degree of accountability because they belong to the people.

 Administrators or those that are charged with handling such funds should demonstrate a high degree of transparency and should be held to account. They should also be available for scrutiny at any given time.

 The Auditor-General’s department is there to ensure checks and balances in public accounts and as such should be given all the necessary support that it needs to acquit that role.

 Transparency in the use of public funds is critical even if it is for minor things such as forks and spoons. More often than not, focus is on misuse of large amounts of public funds while neglecting abuse through smaller expenditure, which cumulatively can amount to a lot of money.