Auditor General’s Office asks for an MVR 134.5M budget for next year

The Auditor General’s Office (AGO) has asked the Parliament to approve an MVR 134.5 million budget for next year.

The proposed budget is MVR 20 million higher than the one approved for this year.

On Tuesday, Auditor General Hussain Niyazy, along with other senior officials from the AGO, attended a meeting with the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee to present the budget.

The MVR 134.5 million proposed budget includes MVR 89 million in recurrent expenses, and MVR 3 million in capital expenses. The budget also includes an MVR 41.5 million allocation for Public Sector Investment Program (PSIP) initiatives.

The AGO attributed the higher budget to a salary increment implemented in September under the national pay harmonization initiative – which has increased the payroll by MVR 9.8 million, and plans to hire senior auditors to lead multiple teams that are currently operating without a head.

Niyazy told the committee that the AGO currently employs 170 staff, including 150 auditors. But he said the number of staff is low compared to the office’s growing workload.

The AGO plans to conduct 81 audits next year, including nine special audits.