KATHMANDU: The government’s arrears has climbed to over Rs 1183 billion till date, according to the 61st report of the Office of the Auditor General. The report is based on the audit of all three-tier governments as of the fiscal year 2022/23.

 Speaker of the House of Representatives Devraj Ghimire said that increasing arrears in the public offices was a cause for concern.    
Speaking at the 66th anniversary of the Office of the Auditor General on Saturday, Speaker Ghimire asserted that the responsible authorities in the public agencies should take seriously the issue of increasing arrears.    
Calling for promptness to clear arrears, Ghimire urged the concerned authorities to implement the recommendations in the report of the Office of the Auditor General, thereby reducing the arrears and maintaining financial discipline and accountability.    
He commented that the account committee's performance at local level was not satisfactory. He emphasized that the concerned authority and accounting heads at public offices should realize their responsibilities to prevent arrears from occurring at the first place and secondly, to expedite clearance of arrears persisting as of now.    
The Speaker also requested the Office of Auditor General to fulfill its responsibilities as stipulated in the constitution of our country.    

Similarly, Rishikesh Pokharel, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee under the federal parliament, urged that the Office of Attorney General to proceed with its work in maintaining fiscal discipline and good-governance more effectively.    
He argued that we could achieve effective results by considering change in our working style. Pokharel advocated for the autonomy of the Office of Auditor General in accordance with the federal set-up.    
He rued that deliberation on the report of the Office of the Auditor General could not be held in the parliamentary committees for a long time. According to Pokharel, at present deliberation is underway on the 60th report of the OAG in the Public Account Committee.    
He demanded punishment for those employees in the public offices who perpetuate arrears.    
Likewise, Auditor General Toyam Raya pledged to make audit system more refined and effective.    
According to him, the parliamentary committees and parliaments could play significant role in addressing the problems pointed out by his office's report. The auditing was carried out in compliance with the law and considering factors such as competence, effectiveness and relevance among others, he shared. -- RSS