Just N$11 billion of government expenditure received clean audit opinions in 2025, while more than N$75 billion was associated with qualified audit opinions, raising concerns about governance, accountability and financial management across Namibia’s public sector.
The figures were revealed by Office of the Auditor-General Director of Accruals, Blessing Nyandoro, during the Bank of Namibia’s Internal Audit Awareness Day.
According to Nyandoro, auditors were unable to issue clean audit opinions on the majority of expenditure incurred by offices, ministries and agencies (OMAs) during the year.
“Seventy-five billion was qualified. Auditors could not give a clean audit opinion on the OMAs in 2025. Only N$11 billion was given a clean audit,” he said.
The findings represent a deterioration in audit outcomes, with the proportion of OMAs receiving unqualified audit opinions falling to 46%.
Nyandoro said the results point to underlying weaknesses in governance structures and internal controls within public institutions.
“We need to go back and assess those governance structures and find out why they are in this state. They were doing well, and then all of a sudden they regressed,” he said.
He also raised concerns about accountability at local authority level, where several councils continue to fail to submit financial statements for auditing.
“Financial statements are not submitted for audit. They receive money from the Ministry of Finance. They receive money from residents. But the financial statements are not submitted for audit. We are missing the opportunity for accountability there,” he said.
Among the most common audit findings were weak governance systems, ineffective internal audit functions, inadequate record-keeping, fruitless expenditure and poor financial reporting practices.
The concerns come at a time when Namibia is preparing for potentially significant economic growth driven by oil and gas discoveries, green industrialisation and digital transformation.
Speaking at the same event, Bank of Namibia Deputy Governor Nicholas Mukasa warned that governance weaknesses could undermine the country’s ability to benefit fully from future economic opportunities.
“The larger and more complex our economy becomes, the greater the need for oversight, accountability and assurance mechanisms that safeguard public resources and strengthen public confidence,” he said.
Mukasa noted that major institutional failures are often preceded by ignored warning signs.
“The collapse of major institutions such as Lehman Brothers, Credit Suisse, the downfall of South Africa’s Steinhoff Group and the failure of SME Bank here in Namibia all serve as powerful reminders that governance failures are not confined to distant markets and faraway institutions. They can happen here, close to home,” he said.
He argued that strong internal audit functions are essential to improving accountability and reducing institutional risk.
