PM’s INAUGURAL SPEECH AT XXIInd
CONFERENCE OF ACCOUNTANTS GENERAL
The Prime Minister,
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee has reiterated his Government’s commitment
to unleash the potential for private enterprise and encourage
the constructive participation of the institutions of civil society.
Inaugurating the 22nd Conference of Accountants General,
here today, the Prime Minister called for greater transparency
in the dissemination of audit reports and urged the auditors to
bring about a change in their mindset in order to enhance the
delivery capability of our democratic system, as well as accelerate
the pace of India’s all-round development and the fulfillment
of the legitimate aspirations of the people. The Prime Minister
said that the time has to come to have a serious relook at the
accountability framework, within which the government-owned enterprises
and senior officers operate. Shri Vajpayee also suggested the
setting up of a compliance mechanism under the office of CAG.
The Finance Minister,
Shri Jaswant Singh, Shri Vijayendra N. Kaul, Comptroller &
Auditor General, Shri Buta Singh, Chairman, Public Accounts Committee,
Shri P.K. Brahma, Deputy Comptroller Auditor General and Ms. Sudha
Rajgopalan, Deputy Comptroller & Auditor General-cum Chairman,
Audit Board were among the distinguished guests present on the
occasion.
Following is the
text of the Prime Minister’s inaugural speech on the occasion:
"It gives me
great pleasure to be with you here today.
Public Audit
in India has played a key role in improving the accountability
of the executive to the Legislature and in strengthening and deepening
our democratic form of Government. By focussing on specific instances
of waste and mismanagement as well as on Government programmes
that fail to deliver the desired results, Public Audit contributes
to the improvement of public policy and delivery of public services.
However, Public Audit
also faces the challenges of change. This has become inevitable
owing to the reform programme of the Central and State Governments.
The role of the Government has been changing from that of a controller
and executor of socio-economic activities to that of a policy-maker,
facilitator, motivator, and direction-setter. Our main emphasis
now is to unleash the potential for private enterprise and encourage
the constructive participation of the institutions of civil society.
Governments in the
era of reforms are expected to do less in the economic sphere;
but they are also expected to ensure that more is got done. This
does not in the least reduce the importance of the principle of
accountability in Government. The executive has a Constitutional
duty and a moral obligation to see to it that every rupee at its
disposal is well spent and for the purposes for which it is allocated.
Thus, the executive is accountable not only for how much has been
spent and under what heads, but what the expenditure has actually
achieved.
One of the shortcomings
in our governmental system is that the evaluation of our policies
and programmes is often spending-based, and not sufficiently based
on outputs and outcomes. This must change. We must remember that
the people have become more demanding vis-à-vis the performance
of the governments they elect. Therefore, I urge the office of
the CAG to sharpen its focus on what has been achieved with what
has been spent.
I am aware that a
lot of good work done by the CAG is still awaiting examination
by the Legislative Committees. Inadequate follow-up action on
audit reports presented to Parliament and State Legislatures is
a matter of concern. I have been the Chairman of the Public Accounts
Committee of the Parliament and I know that the task before the
Public Accounts Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings
is a difficult one. The difficulty that arises from overload can
be tackled by transferring matters of administrative and organisational
nature to the Departmental Standing Committees, so that the Public
Accounts Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings can
concentrate on more important areas requiring greater attention.
In fact, I had suggested this while inaugurating the last Conference.
I am sure the Committees are seized of the matter.
In the meantime,
I would suggest that the CAG could consider a compliance mechanism
within his department. Such compliance audit would be a productive
exercise given the poor state of response to many important audit
findings. This would also contribute meaningfully to the efforts
of legislative committees in coping with the burden of expanding
accountability concerns.
I know that the tasks
of the Committees are increasingly getting more difficult due
to the complexities of the accountability structure. If an incorrect
financial decision is taken or a particular activity of Government
leads to loss or wastage it becomes extremely difficult to locate
where exactly what went wrong or who was responsible, due to a
network of interdependent systems and procedures. More responsibility
centres with wider delegated powers are intended to speed up execution.
But lack of accountability in the executive can subvert even the
best of initiatives. This is also true of your own organization
and you have to ensure that the methods and techniques you follow
in your work compare with the best in the world.
In this context,
I should also stress the fact that the executive departments of
the Government are keen to respond to your practical and constructive
suggestions. By design, CAG’s audit follows the event, though
sometimes a little too late. Once the event is over and the executive
has moved on to another time frame with a fresh set of goals there
could be some hesitation to look back. But your observations should
be such that they prompt the concerned department to look back
for guidance and self-correction. You should also consider the
overall circumstances in which the executive took a particular
decision. When this happens, the CAG audit will not be seen as
a fault-finding exercise, but as a useful mechanism for correction
and reconstruction.
It is heartening
that the Audit Reports of the CAG are now engaging wider public
attention. While inaugurating the last Conference I had suggested
that for wider dissemination of the audit findings you should
make available your Reports in Hindi as well, on your website.
I am happy that you have not only done that but also have gone
a step further by issuing some of your Reports in selected States
in their respective languages. Administrative Departments of the
Government should now come a step forward and append major audit
findings and action taken thereon to their Administrative Reports
in English, Hindi or other languages as appropriate. This would
further deepen the accountability process by informing and advising
the silent, yet the most powerful stakeholders of Government and
enhance transparency.
I have often heard
civil servants – especially those who have retired from service
– say that, while our system has many legitimate checks and balances
to ensure accountability, it does not leave enough scope for individual
initiative. They complain that the system has in-built disincentives
for taking decisions. The job of the executive is to execute the
policies and programmes of the Government. To execute, one has
to take decisions – promptly and in view of the overall objective
to be achieved. But senior officers, whose duty it is to take
decisions and produce results, are often afraid of possible audit
remarks and shy away from taking commercial decisions in a timely
manner. Instead, they play it safe, preferring to take shelter
under procedures and technicalities.
Thus, the executive
becomes a prisoner of procedures, rather than an achiever of purpose.
An atmosphere in which the auditor is on the offensive and the
executive is on the defensive is detrimental to good performance.
In the absence of timely decisions, projects and programmes become
victims of unacceptable time and cost overruns. You will agree
that this, too, is as much a violation of the principle of accountability
as any act of financial irregularity.
This matter has assumed
great significance lately especially in view of the growing competition
between government-owned enterprises and their private sector
counterparts. Even when the area of business is the same, there
is a non-level playing field between the two insofar as the powers
vested with their executives are concerned. Clearly, the time
has come to take a serious re-look at the accountability framework
within which government-owned enterprises and senior officers
in the Government operate. The system has to empower and trust
our executives if they have to become dynamic and produce best
possible results. This requires a change in the mindset of auditors,
since they too are a part of this system, and not outside it.
Our overall objective should be to enhance – indeed, substantially
enhance – the delivery capability of our democratic system, so
the pace of India’s all-round development is accelerated and the
legitimate aspirations of our people are fulfilled. I seek your
active cooperation in effecting this change.
I am glad to
note that CAG has established the institutional framework for
auditing the panchayat raj institutions and urban local bodies
where a sizeable chunk of resources are deployed. All of us should
ensure that grass-root level democracy not only succeeds in form,
but it also delivers in full measure the goals set for it.
‘Integrity’ and ‘Reliability’
are the core values that have helped the CAG gain all-round credibility.
The global community also reposes confidence in you in bids for
international audit. You have benchmarked yourself with the best
and I compliment all those working in the system, who have made
it possible.
I greet you and
convey through you my greetings to all the officers and employees
of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department. I know they are discharging
a difficult function at a critical time, but with a passion for
excellence that should be the hallmark of every governmental institution.
With these words,
I inaugurate the Twenty Second Conference of the Accountants General
and wish you success in your deliberations.
Thank you".