The Auditor-General for the Federation (AuGF) and President of the African Organization of Supreme Audit Institution Working Group on Environmental Audit (AFROSAI-WGEA), Aghughu Adolphus A. JP, FCNA, FCTI has said that the coordinated Environmental Audit of the Nile and Niger Rivers would commence soon.
He said this on Monday, 30th August 2021 during a Virtual Meeting of members of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) across the Rivers Nile and Niger axis of the continent. The Audit is to benefit the African countries that are concerned. The meeting was to discuss the form the co-operative Audit will take, the role of the AFROSAI-WGEA Secretariat and the form the Audit Report will take as well as its timetable.
Declaring the meeting open, the AuGF appealed to members of SAI to participate in the Audit. He said that the Audit approach is not to make political decisions but to make recommendations but for those on the political side to make well-informed decisions especially when there are resources such as the River Nile and Niger. “The countries involved are sovereign” and we give that to them, he said. He also said the that the essence of the planning phase is for a good number of SAIs to audit the Nile and Niger Rivers to benefit their countries. He stated that the AFROSAI Secretariat will move forward with deliberations regardless of non-participating countries to ensure the Audit is successful.
In a speech, the Head of the AFROSAI WGEA Secretariat and Director, Environmental Audit, Mr. Akindele Dosamu, thanked everyone who attended the meetings for their contributions, he also acknowledged the presence of Mr. Michael Malabeja of SAI Tanzania and thanked him immensely for coming on board. He said the purpose of the meeting is to ensure the Audit planning will be conclusive and that there would be no grey area. He beckoned on every country concerned to participate in the audit exercise as there is no other place, we can call our continent than Africa.
Mr. Malabeja in his response, said the essence of the Audit is to embrace the value the Nile and Niger Rivers have. He spoke extensively on the River Nile which consists of ten (10) countries namely: Egypt, Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. “Each country has a certain role to play”, he said. He highlighted the issues that affect the quality of the water especially water pollution. He urged the Secretariat to maintain the communication among the SAIs.
Also speaking at the meeting was Mr. Abbey Oweiziarerebo, the Head, AFROSAI WGEA Secretariat and the host of the meeting. He also spoke on the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) in Uganda: a partnership among the Nile riparian states that “seeks to develop the river in a cooperative manner, share substantial socioeconomic benefits, and promote regional peace and security”. He also said that every country has a basic responsibility to preserve the interest of the Nile and Niger Rivers towards ensuring they address the issue of water pollution. In addition, he said the Secretariat does not want any SAI to miss out on the opportunity.
In attendance was Liz from SAI Uganda, Mr. Peter Jonath of Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GermanSociety for International Cooperation) (GIZ) who also spoke on the need for resources be made available to leave a legacy for the future and generations to come. He said that GIZ looks forward to supporting SAIs across Africa.
The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks from the AuGF who beckoned on the participation of the Francophone SAIs.
OQUA, EME I. I.
Head, Press Unit
30th August, 2021
