Overshadowed by the controversial Enemalta fuel debate, the Auditor General’s annual report has received little attention in Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee over the past two years.

While most of the audit reports contained in the National Audit Office’s annual exercise are discussed by the committee, Auditor General Anthony Mifsud acknowledged the last two years were “an exception”.

“Most of the PAC meetings have been dedicated to the fuel procurement investigation report. This high profile case has overshadowed the usual discussion on the annual report,” he told Times of Malta.

PAC chairman Tonio Fenech acknowledged the committee had other issues come to its attention over the past months that prevented a more focused approach to the annual report.

“But once we clear the current agenda, aspects of a more salient nature from the 2013 annual report will be discussed in the PAC,” he said.

The PAC has had a marathon of sittings to discuss the Auditor General’s audit of Enemalta’s fuel procurement released in July last year. The committee is probing the findings and, while numerous witnesses have testified, more are expected to do so in the coming months.

The National Audit Office’s most recent exercise is a 300-page report auditing public accounts for 2013.

It provides an in-depth glimpse of how the public purse is managed and flags various instances of maladministration and squandering of public funds – problems that keep surfacing every year. But Mr Mifsud’s frustration, which he said was a common trait among national audit offices, was tempered with hope.

It is pertinent to note that certain improvements have been registered”

“It is pertinent to note that certain improvements have been registered as a result of NAO reports. A case in point is the report of social benefit fraud issued at the beginning of 2014. Certain measures announced in this year’s budget are related to issues raised and subsequent recommendations made in this report.”

The National Audit Office periodically embarked on follow-up audits to check whether the identified shortcomings were being duly addressed, Mr Mifsud added.

The 2013 annual report contained particularly damning findings on the state of Gozo Channel’s finances, questionable practices by the Electoral Office and maladministration at Mater Dei Hospital related to the running of the car park by a private operator.

The NAO is a constitutional body that reports its findings on public administration to Parliament. The office celebrated its 200th anniversary this year.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com