Chapter three: Democracy and good political governance means that the government would not have known what its actual cash position was at the end of the 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 financial years. In this regard, there is a significant risk of material fraud that has not been detected owing to the absence of reconciliations. 273. The CRM learnt that there is an extensive backlog of unreconciled public accounts, and, in many cases, there is no documentation to facilitate full reconciliation. This is yet another loophole for fraud in the public sphere. In this regard, one of the most serious indictments in the auditor general’s report is that the oversight of the Office of the Accountant General is not adequate and does not ensure that ministries and districts submit reconciliations and supporting information on a monthly basis. This is perpetuated by the fact that failure to submit reconciled accounts carries no sanctions or risks regarding continued funding. 274. The CRM appreciates the government’s concern about the scourge of corruption and its determination and efforts to address the problem of corruption and lack of accountability in the public sphere. The CRM, however, is of the view that more needs to be done for these efforts to be effective. 275. Additionally, the DCEO is regarded as ineffective. Stakeholders described it as a toothless watchdog, especially in view of its failure or inability to investigate alleged corruption among state officials. It also appears to lack the capacity to investigate economic offences, which require quite specialised skills, especially when it comes to money laundering and other sophisticated economic crimes. iii. Recommendations 276. The APR Panel recommends: • That the OAG be functionally independent instead of operating as a department of the MoFDP. (Government of Lesotho, OAG, PAC, DCEO, the ombudsman, international cooperating partners) • That the OAG be granted the flexibility to recruit its own staff and not necessarily be staffed through the PSC, and that the staffing level be commensurate with its workload. (Government of Lesotho, OAG, PAC, DCEO, the ombudsman, international cooperating partners) • That the OAG and other institutions involved in the anticorruption crusade be granted an adequate level of funding and physical resources to meet their operational requirements. (Government of Lesotho, OAG, PAC, DCEO, the ombudsman, international cooperating partners) • That the OAG be mandated to submit its reports directly to the PAC of Parliament and not through the MoFDP. (Government of Lesotho, OAG, PAC, DCEO, the ombudsman, international cooperating partners) • That the PAC of Parliament deal with government audit reports promptly and firmly in accordance with the provisions of the law. (Government of Lesotho, OAG, PAC, DCEO, the ombudsman, international cooperating partners) 81