Dhulikhel, December 18: The first joint workshop of the Public Accounts Committees of the provincial assemblies, the federal PAC and the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) developed common understanding and discussed about possible synergies at the federal and provincial level.

The event organized from December 15-17 designated the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), a constitutional commission, to look into the regularity, economy, efficiency, effectiveness of government accounts and the propriety thereof, and Public Accounts Committees, the parliamentary committees to look into public accounts together to promote complementarity between both institutions, which are essentially meant to audit and oversee the public accounts.

In the workshop organized by the federal PAC with support from UNDP’s Parliament  Support Project, Hon. Bharat Kumar Shah, Chairperson of the Federal PAC briefed about Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Committee and its scope while Hon. Tanka Mani Sharma, Auditor General (AG) presented OAG’s work and challenges as well as the need to work together with PAC to identify and correct financial gaps of the government.

Ramu Prasad Dotel, Deputy Auditor General, OAG presented the scope and mandate of OAG and shared about the audit plan for the next fiscal year along with the auditing process of the OAG. Chairpersons of provincial PACs shared their work, challenges and achievements and requested the federal PAC for capacity development initiatives at the provincial level. It was shared in the workshop that it has been difficult for PAC at the Province 2 to elect its Chairperson while work of PACs in other provinces has been going on amidst their own challenges. Members of the federal PAC acknowledged the work of the provincial PACs where some of them also expressed how they have exceeded the federal PAC in their performance.

Auditor General requested the Chairpersons from provincial PACs to be the focal points for the OAG at the provinces. The provincial PAC have also extended their support to the OAG.

Moreover, the joint workshop was an avenue to build a uniform understanding over the jurisdictions of Public Accounts Committees of both federal and provincial level while it was also an opportunity for Auditor General’s Office to collect lawmakers' feedback in relation to its report.

A total of 30 participants including 18 MPs and 12 government personnel attended event.

UNDP’s Parliament Support Project (PSP) has been supporting the capacity building of parliaments, creating wider discourse around draft laws and promoting parliamentary openness, among others. The project also emphasizes on creation of opportunities for people from marginalized groups, youth and women to participate in parliamentary affairs.