At 59th AFROSAI Governing Board Meeting: CONSUPE boss hails collaboration between African supreme audit institutions.

She was speaking in Yaounde on Thursday February 8. This was during the 59th Governing Board Meeting of the African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions, known by its French acronym, AFROSAI. 

The 59th Governing Board Meeting ran from Monday February 5 to Friday February 9, in Yaounde. 

The objective of the session was not only to ensure respect of the transparency and accountability requirements to which certain AFROSAI organs are bound, but also to take stock of the achievements of the technical organs, approve the institutional, professional and organisational capacity building options of member supreme audit institutions and chart the course of action with regard to the governance of the Organisation.

The meeting also featured the presentation of the report of the Secretariat General of AFROSAI as well as the activity report of Regional Training Council for Supreme Audit Institutions in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa, CREFIAF, the vote of the budget and the work plan of the Secretariat General, and a briefing on the preparation of the next General Assembly due to hold in Libya in December 2024.

Minister Mbah Acha, who is also Secretary General of AFROSAI, and Chairperson of the Regional Committee of Institutional Strengthening, CRRI, disclosed that the meeting was supposed to have been held in Tripoli, Libya, but according to the standing orders of the organisation, “when a country cannot host, it is the Secretariat General that hosts”. 

“It is in this vein that we are hosting in Cameroon in the place of Libya,” she said.

Pointing out the fruitful collaboration between African supreme audit institutions, Minister Mbah Acha noted that: “May I seize this opportunity to highlight the excellent collaboration between the Supreme State Audit Office of Cameroon and the Libyan Audit Bureau. It could never have been otherwise given the spirit of solidarity that has always reigned within our Organisation”.

Going down memory lane, she disclosed that: “The history of the Community of African Supreme Audit Institutions began right here in Yaounde in 1976. At that time, the Heads of Supreme Audit Institutions from Africa decided to establish AFROSAI as a Regional Group of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions, INTOSAI”.  

She added that: “In 2005 after a long journey marked by the drafting of the first Statutes and the establishment of some management organs, the destiny of our Organisation became inextricably linked with the Libyan Audit Bureau, which then played a major role. Indeed, the headquarters of the Organisation, initially established in Lome, Togo at the time of its foundation, was transferred to Libya. Under its auspices, the Organisation continued to grow, particularly with the establishment of a strategic framework”. 

“In 2008, the Orgainsation adopted its first Strategic Plan, which helped to structure its actions…the Supreme State Audit Office of Cameroon took over AFROSAI’s headquarters and the General Secretariat…we believe that the mandate has also enabled the Organisation to make great strides and a qualitative leap forward,” she affirmed. 

Moving forward

Meanwhile, the Head of the Libyan Audit Bureau, Kalep Shakshak, said: “We are happy to be here in Cameroon with our colleagues. We thank Cameroon, particularly the president and the government for this quality organisation of the meeting”. 

Concerning the agenda, Shakshak, said the various technical committees held meetings and the Governing Board Meeting validated some of what the committees decided. These, he noted, will then be presented to the General Assembly in November 2024.

“…we expect to have good results in favour of the audit institutions,” he added.   

On his part, Babacar Bakhoum, representing the incumbent president of AFROSAI, said the Organisation is waxing strong as they are deciding about the future of the institution. 

“This is a meeting which gives great orientations for this year 2024. The technical committees made some recommendations that were validated by the Governing Board to give a new orientation for the follow up of our activities,” he noted.