City of Windhoek overspends N$20 million on salaries, audit reveals IT and land record issues
via The Namibian2 min read
The City of Windhoek exceeded government-approved salary limits by nearly N$20 million in 2024, according to the auditor general. The municipality implemented a 5% salary increase, despite ministerial approval being capped at 3%. Similar overspending on employee costs was identified in 2023 N$72.2 million and 2022 N$24.1 million. Auditor General Junias Kandjeke stated that the expenditure could not be verified as properly incurred due to these adjustments. The audit also highlighted weaknesses in the municipality's information technology systems, including deleted client transaction histories, discrepancies between archive and solaris systems, delayed transaction postings, and missing receipts. Outdated security policies, weak password controls, inadequate user-access management, and a lack of proper audit trails were cited as root causes, preventing auditors from determining the impact of data manipulation on 2023 and 2024 financial statements. Furthermore, the municipality could not provide a complete reconciliation of land under its control, hindering auditors' ability to verify the accuracy of land records. These unresolved issues from previous financial years raise concerns about governance, financial controls, and record-keeping within the City of Windhoek.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by The Namibian.
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