Nepal's public sector arrears reach Rs 755bn as over Rs 88bn added: OAG

KATHMANDU: Total public sector arrears in Nepal have reached Rs 755 billion, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) said in its Annual Report for fiscal year 2024/25 submitted to President Ramchandra Paudel on Friday.

The OAG, Nepal’s Supreme Audit Institution, audited accounts totalled Rs 9,484.5 billion across federal, provincial and local governments, organised institutions, and other agencies and committees designated by federal law during the fiscal year. The audit identified arrears of a theoretical nature amounting to Rs 88.09 billion that require policy and systemic improvements.

Auditor General Toyam Raya said audits could not be completed for accounts and related statements of 179 offices and agencies because of the Uprising and events on September 8–9 last year, leaving Rs 147.9 billion unaudited. He reported that federal government offices account for Rs 53.49 billion of the arrears, provincial offices Rs 5.23 billion, local-level offices Rs 19.05 billion, and committees and other institutions Rs 10.32 billion.

From examinations of past arrears and settlements carried out this year, the audit process recovered Rs 14.63 billion, the report noted.

This year’s audit work included 3,050 federal ministries and agencies covering Rs 2,917.95 billion; 1,124 provincial ministries and agencies totalled Rs 320.30 billion; and local-level audits amounted to Rs 1,100.92 billion. Audits of 577 committees and other agencies totalled Rs 447.77 billion, while audits of 44 institutions designated by federal law, covering 54 fiscal years, amounted to Rs 4,688.96 billion.

The Ministry of Finance was found to hold the largest share of arrears, accounting for 70.37% of the total. The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport ranked second, followed by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperative and Poverty Alleviation; the Ministry of Forests and Environment; and the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.

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