Auditor General relieved after three decades

By Groum Abate

Lemma Argaw, Auditor General has been relieved from the position he retained since 1979 by a letter from the Prime Minister on Friday November 10.

Sources told Capital that Tezera Wedajo, current State Minister of Revenue is a plausible candidate for the now vacant position at the office of the Federal Auditor General. Tadesse W/Gabriel was the auditor general until Lemma took over.

Observers said that this move by the PM is not appropriate as only the parliament can remove the Auditor General from his position.

The independence of the Auditor was reinforced by general proclamation 68/1997 sub article (4) article 101 of the constitution that states that the Council of Peoples' Representatives, upon recommendation by the Prime Minister, appoints the Auditor General and the Auditor General is accountable to the Council of Peoples' Representatives and between sessions is accountable to the President of Ethiopia.

Lemma Argaw has been serving the country as Auditor General since 1979 when proclamation no. 164/1979 was issued to redefine the power and duties of the Auditor General during the Derg regime.

Recently the Auditor General presented a report to the Parliament exposing that 4.8 billion birr that were allocated by the federal government to regional administrations could not be accounted for. Lemma received a harsh response from Prime Minister Meles Zenawi who accused the Auditor General of interfering in the internal affairs of regional governments.

The last proclamation that redefines the Office of the Auditor General states that the office ascertains that all receivable money and property of the Federal Government are collected, preserved and used properly, in accordance with the laws and Regulation of the Federal Government and report same to the Council. It undertakes financial and performance audits of the offices and organization of the Federal Government among other things.

According to the proclamation, the office of the Federal Auditor General shall have all the powers necessary for the performance of its functions. Without limi ting the generality of the foregoing, the office of the Federal Auditor General shall audit or cause to be audited the accounts of the Federal government offices and organizations; audit the accounts of private contractors relating to the Federal government contractual work which involv es a sum exceeding 500,000 birr among other powers and duties.