PAC seeks to boost oversight 

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has recommended stronger Standing Orders, digital tracking tools, and new legal reforms to improve how parliament holds government accountable for public money.

Presenting a report before the National Assembly recently, PAC chairperson, ‘Machabana Lemphane-Letsie, called for the adoption of digital tools to track audit recommendations, foster closer collaboration with the Auditor-General’s office, and using the AFROSAI-E Model Public Audit Act to advocate for stronger independence of Supreme Audit Institutions.

Lemphane-Letsie’s remarks follow the SADCOPAC Sub-Committees’ Operationalisation and Consultative Workshop held in Johannesburg in March 2026.

She said that her committee would push to use the SADCOPAC advocacy framework to review PAC meeting frequency and follow-up on recommendations.

The workshop exposed persistent regional challenges she added. PACs across SADC still face low implementation rates of recommendations by executives, loss of institutional memory due to electoral turnover, over-reliance on donor funding, and delays in tabling Auditor-General reports.

Lemphane-Letsie noted that the outgoing 2022–2025 strategic plan only achieved 70 percent implementation despite setbacks like COVID-19 and funding shortfalls.

For 2026–2030, SADCOPAC set three pillars: Advocacy for legal reforms and standardised PAC procedures, Capacity enhancement through an AI-enabled digital knowledge platform, and Stakeholder collaboration to formalise partnerships with a 75 percent satisfaction target by 2030.