Mohloai Mpesi
THE Ministry of Finance and Development Planning is facing accusations of frustrating the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) by failing to allocate sufficient funds for it to effectively carry out its mandate.
Sources close to the matter allege that the ministry, led by Finance Minister Dr Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane, has repeatedly declined requests to increase the OAG’s budget, despite the office’s ever expanding audit scope.
According to sources, relations between Dr Matlanyane and the Auditor-General, Mathabo Makenete, deteriorated after the latter refused to discuss the Auditor-General’s report on the government’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 with Cabinet members, before Dr Matlanyane could table it to Parliament.
The OAG had proposed a budget of more than M60 million for the 2026/27 financial year to enable it to conduct comprehensive audits of government ministries, rather than relying primarily on consolidated financial statements. However, it was allocated M30 million — the same amount it received in the previous financial year.
The office had also indicated that the M30 million allocated in the last financial year was insufficient. It reportedly sought an additional M11 million to cover salaries for the final quarter of 2025/26. Although the request was allegedly initially entertained, the funds were ultimately not disbursed, forcing the OAG to use revenue generated from auditing projects to meet its wage bill.
“The OAG realised in the past financial year that it needed to expand its audit scope and the intention is to audit ministries more thoroughly, but that cannot be achieved without adequate funding.”
The source said the stagnant budget undermined accountability in the use of public funds.
“It does not help with accountability. Ministries are not charged for audits, so the government must adequately fund the OAG to perform this function,” the source added.
Further concerns were raised over the handling of the Auditor-General’s report on the government’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.
The report was submitted to Dr Matlanyane in May 2025 but was only tabled in the National Assembly on 12 March 2026 — nearly a year later — despite legal provisions requiring it to be tabled within seven days.
During that period, the minister allegedly attempted to have the OAG present and discuss the report before Cabinet, a move sources say was resisted on legal grounds.
“The report is submitted to the minister for tabling in Parliament, not for discussion in Cabinet. That would be outside the law,” the source said.
“It appears there is both financial and political pressure being exerted on the OAG,” the source said.
Contacted for comment, OAG spokesperson, Mantletse Maile, confirmed that they were called to appear before Cabinet before the audit could be presented to Parliament.
“Cabinet requested the Office to present (before it) the Report of the Auditor-General on the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Government of Lesotho for the year ended 2022/2023 before it was tabled (in Parliament),” Ms Maile said.
“However, the report only becomes a public document once it has been tabled in Parliament. In response to the Cabinet’s request, the Office attended the meeting; however, the discussion focused on the management letter rather than the report itself, to review and confirm ministries’ responses before tabling.
“Regarding the delayed payment of salaries for April 2026, the situation is consistent with what has occurred in previous years. Delays in the issuance of warrants during the first quarter are common.”
She added: “And yes, the Office requested more than M60 million but M30 million was approved.”
However, Ministry of Finance spokesperson, Keneuoe Mojaki, could not respond and instead asked this publication to provide evidence of the dates on which the Office of the Auditor-General requested the budget.
“It would help me if there was proof. Can they provide a dated copy so that I can confirm these issues?” she asked.
Meanwhile, efforts to launch a second phase of the audit into the long-running Royal Palace construction project have reportedly stalled due to funding constraints.
The OAG had sought additional funding to engage specialised external auditors for the complex construction audit, following new information suggesting possible irregularities in the project’s management.
Ms Maile also stated that they could not proceed with the audit due to unavailability of funds. She said the audit required expertise beyond the office’s existing capacity.
“Due to the specialised nature of this construction audit, the Office had to engage specialist auditors from a partner Supreme Audit Institution, whose costs exceed the current subvention,” Ms Maile said.
She said a request for additional funding — which included provision for the Royal Palace audit — was submitted during the fourth quarter of the 2025/26 financial year but was not allocated.
“Our initial statement that the additional funds for the Phase II audit were not allocated for the 2025/2026 fiscal year remains valid. However, last week, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning contacted the Office, indicating that the funds should have been released. As a result, follow-up meetings are scheduled for next week to finalise the funds release, now targeting the 2026/2027 fiscal year. The budget requested for auditing the Royal Palace was around M400,000. Note that this amount is not the audit fee but disbursements to support the audit.
“The plan was to start the audit as soon as funds were available in Quarter 4 of the last financial year 2025/2026. The Office did not receive the requested funds.”
Ms Mojaki disputed this, stating that funding for the second phase had in fact been approved and disbursed, although she declined to disclose the amount.
The Auditor-General’s report released in June last year revealed widespread mismanagement in the Royal Palace construction project, warning that costs could exceed half a billion maloti due to irregularities and poor oversight by officials from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
