and submission of the estimates and the collections thereof, as illustrated below – 

(i) VAT claims is a regular revenue item in this Mission, but had been omitted in the revenue estimates. The collections totalled P37 039 in the year under review and was P105 897 in the previous year. 

(ii) Although a total of P135 444 had been paid by the Mission to the service providers in medical expenses, only P9 825 is recorded as having been claimed and received from Medical Aid. 

(iii) The interest on deposits which makes up 85% of the Mission Revenue estimates has been consistently inflated and therefore unrealistic relative to the actual collections over the years. 

b) The Mission expenditure for the year under review was P23 038 389. Out of this amount, P1 964 203 was for rentals on properties leased by the Mission. At this level, I consider the expenditure significant, which ranks second at 9% after salaries and allowances at 60%. In this connection, I have inquired from the Accounting Officer if any consideration had been given to the possibility of purchasing, at least, some of the properties, given that the Mission is one of the oldest ones, dating back to 1966. While the capital sum required for the purchases may be substantial, there could be savings on rentals over time. 

c) In connection with the leased properties, it was noted that the Mission had taken out insurance policy on the buildings and Government-owned contents of those properties. The insurance on buildings covered all perils including subsidence. In this regard, I have sought the Accounting Officer’s comments on Government’s insurable interest on buildings that it does not own, but has only leased. My view is that the insurable interest of those properties should lie with their owners. 

d) In the year under review, the Mission did not have a provision for the purchase of motor vehicles under the Special Expenditure subhead. Consequently, an arrangement was made with a commercial institution for financing the purchase of 2 official vehicles through a hire purchase scheme at a monthly instalment of P12 106 and the expenditure charged to maintenance and running expenses vote. This method of financing the purchase of such high value assets as vehicles is outside of the normal government budgetary procedures. 

