SAO audits financials of 300 government institutions

Afghanistan’s Supreme Audit Office (SAO) has audited the budgets of at least 300 government institutions in the country so far this Solar year, officials said this week.

Addressing a press conference in Kabul on Monday, the deputy head of the SAO said that 775 million Afghani (AFN) has been recovered since the start of the Solar year through their audits.

Afghanistan’s Solar year runs from April to March.

“Around 8.6 billion AFN should be approved, and 12.3 billion AFN will be audited again,” said Najibrahman Rahmani, deputy head of the SAO.

Officials said that 50 government institutions are under investigation for misuse of funds and that in total 200 institutions will be investigated in the upcoming Solar year.

“We will provide a yearly report about government revenue, and expenditure to the leadership of the Islamic Emirate,” said Rahmani.

According to officials, they are working with international organizations to increase the capacity of SAO auditors.

“We have reactivated a relevant institute regarding audits to increase the capacity of inspectors,” said Qudratullah Jamal, head of the SAO.

This comes amid concerns over the looting of public assets during the collapse of the former government. However, the SAO said that their investigation is ongoing, and that they will share information with the people once complete.