Former cabinet ministers, National Assembly Speaker, National Council Chairperson, Opposition Leader and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court spent Nu 55.01 M on hospitality and entertainment in a year. The expenditure exceeded by Nu 15.01 M from the approved hospitality and entertainment budget of Nu 40 M.
This was found out while auditing the hospitality and entertainment expenses from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, by the Royal Audit Authority (RAA).
Although a finance ministry notification states that the prime minister, cabinet ministers and equivalent positions are entitled to reimbursement of actual expenses for in-country travels upon production of original bills, the report states that expenditure of Nu 14.74 M was made without supporting documents.
This constitutes about 27 per cent of the total expenses. The expenditures without supporting documents were mostly on the accounts of soelra, tips, contributions, donations, chagyep, semso, nyendhar and other miscellaneous expenditure incurred by different agencies.
Miscellaneous expenses included the purchase of khadhar and conference hall charges among others
The cabinet had the highest expenditure of Nu 2.29 M without supporting documents among the agencies. Similarly, the health ministry had Nu 2.17 M of expenditure without supporting documents followed by education ministry with Nu 1.46 M.
The RAA, however, stated that considering the nature of expenses like soelra or tips, chagyep, semso, nyendhar where obtaining of original supporting documents may not be practicable. The report says there is a need for the finance ministry and the government to review the existing rules and stipulate such requirements where practical and necessary.
According to the report, the expenditure of Nu 16.04 M on tips or solera and gifts is substantially high despite the discretionary grants of Nu 3.10 M being paid separately by the government.
Nu 38.97 M incurred on others includes food and accommodation, donations, offerings, nyendhar, semso, drinks and miscellaneous expenses which is about 71 per cent of the total expenses.
Although a finance ministry notification states that the actual expense shall not include alcoholic beverages, the agencies had incurred Nu 2.08 M.
The report also states that Nu 35.99 M on official visits and from the expenses incurred on official visits, Nu 3.59 M was incurred on constituency visits.
According to the report, although the first time constituency visits by members of parliament (MPs) and opposition leader has been specified in the guidelines for chadi and hospitality, there is lack of clarity on the constituency visits of cabinet ministers, National Assembly Speaker, and Chairperson of the National Council.
The report states that unlike the budgetary expenses which follow the due process of budgeting cycle, the Hospitality and Entertainment budget under review does not follow due process of budgeting.
The RAA also reported an increasing trend in Hospitality and Entertainment expenses. The annual expenditure increased to Nu 55.01 M in the financial year 2015-16 as compared to Nu 42.07 M in 2014-15. The expenditure exceeded the annual approved budget for the three consecutive years.
The RAA recommended to develop guidelines on the hospitality and entertainment expenses, to have proper limits on the amounts of gifts, donations and other expenses to ensure adherence to a maximum ceiling for hospitality and entertainment budget, and to have supporting documents for the expenditures among others.
