EZULWINI – Public Accounts Committees (PACs) across the SADC region must establish quarterly mechanisms for scrutinising State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) debt and contingent liabilities.
This is one of a variety of resolutions that have come from Southern African Development Community Organisation of Public Accounts Committees (SADCOPAC) 18th Annual Conference and 22nd Annual General Meeting today.
The proposed measure seeks to strengthen parliamentary oversight of SOE borrowing and detect hidden debt and other fiscal risks before they escalate into broader financial problems for governments.
Under the resolution, PACs and similar parliamentary committees would be required to establish a dedicated mechanism for quarterly reviews of SOE debt portfolios and contingent liabilities.
The findings would then have to be reported to Parliament and published for public scrutiny within 12 months.
The resolution states that member parliaments should also ensure that PACs, Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) and investigative agencies have the necessary legal powers and technical capacity to scrutinise SOE borrowing and assess debt sustainability.
SADCOPAC further commits to enhancing collaboration between PACs, SAIs, civil society and investigative agencies to track and report hidden debt and fiscal risks.
The move follows discussions during the four-day conference, which placed fiscal resilience and the prevention of fiscal haemorrhage among the key areas requiring stronger oversight.
The conference, held under the theme “Oversight into Action: Building an Integrated Accountability System for Anticipatory Governance and Systemic Resilience in the SADC Region”, brought together legislators and accountability institutions from the region.
The resolutions are being presented under three broad pillars, namely Defending the Purse, Scrutinising the Future and Strengthening the System.
The SOE debt resolution falls under Pillar A, Defending the Purse, which focuses on fiscal resilience, asset recovery and preventing financial leakages.
Members are also being asked to ensure that all SADC member states adhere to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) to promote consistent and transparent financial reporting.
SADCOPAC further resolved to work with AFRODAD to develop a regional Public Debt Oversight Manual by the first quarter of 2027.
The resolutions will be considered by members during today’s AGM as the organisation seeks to translate the conference’s deliberations into concrete oversight measures across the region.
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