Scrutinising public money expenditure

Posted on 28 June 2011 - 08:47pm
Last updated on 29 June 2011 - 08:17am

R. Nadeswaran
Citizen Nades

IN 2006, a Petaling Jaya municipal councillor made a bold declaration: “We will be transparent and even the cost of a string will be accounted for in the council’s budget.” Famous last words indeed! A week later, the council president dropped a bombshell: “No one can scrutinise the detailed accounts.” End of story? Not yet.
When a new set of councillors were appointed in June 2008, they all talked about “accountability and transparency”. Did they practise what they preached? May be a little – 10% – and that’s being generous. Do we know how much was spent on lawatan sambil belajar (if any)? How much was paid for the parties during festive periods? How much did the “film and photography” cost? We certainly hope it would be not RM110,000 as in the 2007 budget!
Having campaigned for transparency in the affairs of local councils all these years, and never having been successful, an opportunity has come along to partake in the democratic process of scrutinising the spending of public money. Last week, advertisements appeared in the local newspapers that the public could examine the books and documents of the North London Waste Authority which handles collection and disposal of waste across seven local councils in London.
The ad says that “any person may inspect the accounts of the Authority ...”, which means anyone can walk into the office during the prescribed time and examine the books. You may be living in another borough and paying your council tax to a different authority, but you can scrutinise the accounts and calculate (on the average) how much it costs to collect and dispose waste for every household.
However, there’s a catch. If I want to ask the auditor questions about the accounts, I must be a registered voter in that borough. Since I can’t vote and don’t qualify on that count, I could still ask questions if I bear a letter from a voter in the area, to appoint me as his or her “representative”, which is not difficult to get. And if I do find something abnormal or illegal, I can object to the accounts and ask the auditors to produce a report in the public interest or even go to court to show that that item of expenditure is contrary to the law.
The whole system operates on the presumption that councils exist to serve the public, and because it is your money that is being used, it is your right to inspect, question and challenge their accounts. It is also a belief that people entrusted with public money will exercise care and prudence as if they were spending their own money. If a ratepayer thinks his council has done something wrong, a complaint can be lodged with the Local Council Ombudsman.
The principle is that if there is fraud or improper use of the council’s money, you can demand an explanation from the council’s auditor and if you are not satisfied, you can refer the matter to the Ombudsman. If you have evidence of fraud, you can contact the police. If you feel that the behaviour and conduct of a councillor or staff has fallen below the standards expected, he can be referred to the Local Government Standards Board for England.
The system allows you to communicate with the auditors and offer information which may be relevant to their responsibilities. You can tell the auditors if you think something is wrong with the accounts or tell them about waste and inefficiency in the way the council runs its services. The auditors do not have to give you a detailed report of any investigation but will usually tell you the general outcome.
In the UK, councils irrespective of their political leanings, take the stand that an anti-fraud culture is the joint duty of all those involved in giving political direction, determining policy and management. They formulate strategies against fraud and corruption whether it is attempted against the council from outside or from within its own workforce.
Councils, councillors and employees at all levels are expected to lead by example in ensuring adherence to legal requirements, contracts and financial procedure rules, codes of conduct and best professional practice.
Swift and firm action is taken against those who defraud the council or who are corrupt.
Can we set the same standards in Malaysia, especially Petaling Jaya, which happens to be one of the largest local councils in Malaysia? It is supposed to have won “quality awards” for consecutive years, but good governance is not exactly a catchphrase for some councillors and a good percentage of the staff. No need for a trip to UK to “study” how these policies are implemented because if you go on the net, the accounts and policies of all the local councils are available at the tap of a button!
R. Nadeswaran gets his chance to examine documents and even make copies to add to his little dossier of collectibles. He is theSun’s UK correspondent based in London. Comments: citizen-nades@thesundaily.com