The Office of the Federal Auditor General has exposed significant financial mismanagement across government institutions, reporting that billions of birr were squandered in violation of accounting regulations during the 2017 fiscal year.
The findings were presented in a 65-page audit report submitted to the House of People's Representatives, detailing widespread lack of transparency and illicit financial practices within various federal bodies.
According to the report, federal institutions disbursed over 1.1 billion birr without providing complete supporting documentation for the expenditures. Furthermore, the audit confirmed 35.8 million birr in undocumented spending, 57.8 million birr in expenditures that bypassed established rules and regulations, and 280.6 million birr in overpayments and duplicate disbursements.
The Ministry of Health leads the list of institutions cited for this waste with 231.1 million birr, followed by the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation at 23 million birr, and the Ethiopian Sports Academy with over 10 million birr in irregular expenditures.
The report also unveiled a massive accumulation of outstanding receivables. Despite regulations requiring advances for operational costs or per diems to be settled within seven days, 138 government offices and 18 branches have left approximately 16.3 billion birr in receivables unsettled.
Of this total, 4.6 billion birr has been outstanding for between one month and one year, 6.6 billion birr for one to five years, and 4.8 billion birr for five to ten years. The Ministry of Health again accounts for the largest share of this figure, holding 3.4 billion birr in unsettled accounts.
The Auditor General noted that efforts to recover illegal payments identified in previous years have seen low success rates. Out of 21.5 billion birr previously flagged for recovery, only 6.6 billion birr—or 31 percent—has been returned to the state treasury, leaving nearly 15 billion birr still unaccounted for. Additionally, the report highlighted the concerning failure to recover over 23,000 USD in foreign currency.
While the audit revealed severe accounting chaos in various customs branch offices and universities, it also pointed to some successful remedial actions. As positive examples, the report noted that the Kality Customs branch recovered 3.2 billion birr, the Kombolcha Customs office returned over 800 million birr, and Arba Minch University settled 120.7 million birr following audit recommendations.
Condemning the negligent waste of public resources, the Office of the Federal Auditor General has issued a stern directive for the immediate recovery of the outstanding 15 billion birr. The Auditor General further emphasized the need for legal accountability, urging that all outstanding accounts be cleared immediately and that any funds deemed uncollectible be legally written off the books.
