The government is not ready for another crisis. Ten of the twelve ministries do not have their financial affairs in order, according to the Court of Audit. “The water may have been pumped out and most of the holes closed, but the dike itself has not yet been strengthened.”
The Court of Audit checks every year whether the ministries have everything in order. Is their administration correct? Is the ICT running well? Do they buy according to the rules?
The Court found 44 errors in last year’s annual reports. In more than half of the cases, the institute was unable to verify whether the ministry had actually received the products ordered. In addition, tenders regularly went wrong.
That is worrying, says the Court of Audit. “Being able to properly explain how ministers have spent tax money is the basis for citizens’ confidence in their political governance,” the institute writes.
Things go wrong especially in Public Health, Welfare and Sport
Things go especially wrong at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). The annual report was not finished on time even for the third year in a row. The Court of Audit believes that the pace at which the ministry is putting its financial management in order is too slow. “It’s a symptom that the basics aren’t right.”
This is partly due to structural problems, such as a lack of financial specialists. On the other hand, according to the Court of Audit, it is also due to the culture at the ministry, which does not consider financial management important enough. The Minister of Finance must lend a helping hand.
The Court also finds it remarkable that the government is still struggling with the legacy of the corona crisis. Substantial support measures were launched during the pandemic. Whether this was done properly can only be assessed in retrospect, but it now appears that in many cases ministries are no longer able to verify this.
In the past year, this amounted to 5.6 billion euros. The Court of Audit understands that the measures were taken under great pressure, but still calls it a serious matter. “It is about money from citizens and companies, who can assume that the right amount has ended up in the right place.”
The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport says in a response that no money has disappeared, but it does acknowledge that the rules have not always been properly observed. Improvements are promised for next year.
Major problems in Defense security
Things are also increasingly going wrong at the Ministry of Defence. For example, the security of military objects is “substandard”. This can have very serious consequences for the security of our country or allies. This concerns the security of, for example, aircraft, vehicles, ships, data centers, radar installations and weapon systems. A test team from the Court of Auditors was able to access four of the eight objects.
“On one occasion the team climbed over a fence, on another occasion it slipped through an electric operator
gateway that remained open for a long time. Unnoticed by the electronic security system, the team was able to enter the extra-secure area. Passing defense personnel asked no questions,” the Court of Auditors writes.
However, the ministries did spend tax money more lawfully last year and accounted for it better than in previous years. In 2022, 4.6 billion euros in expenditure was not in order. In 2021, this will still amount to more than 15 billion euros.
‘Greenhouse is in better order, but cash management is not’
The Court of Audit’s accountability audit of government revenue and expenditure reveals a mixed picture. “The greenhouse is in better order, but the greenhouse management is not,” writes the institute, which draws a comparison with a dike breach. “The water may have been pumped out and most of the holes closed, but the dike itself has not yet been strengthened.”
The Court of Auditors already warned of this worrying trend last year. “If you look beyond the pandemic, you will see that the so-called tolerance limit for unlawful and uncertain obligations was also exceeded in 2019,” the Court of Auditors wrote at the time.
In 2019, this involved the purchase of shares in the airline Air France-KLM. The Court of Audit urged the government to learn from the government’s mistakes in recent years.
Minister Sigrid Kaag (Finance) says that all ministries are working “very hard”. According to her, the fact that there are still problems at VWS and Defense shows “how tough it is to straighten out those kinds of processes”. According to Kaag, it is not the case that one ministry is more lax with financial accountability than the other. “That would be a sloppy conclusion.”
2023-05-17 10:28:02
#Ministries #finances #order #Government #ready #crises #Politics
