Part II
Last week, we examined the accountability arrangements of all statutory bodies, especially as regards compliance with the Fiscal Management and Accounta-bility (FMA) Act. The Act defines a statutory body as a public entity that has been established by law. However, Section 82 provides for the classification of such bodies as: public enterprises; departmental enterprises; and other bodies. It is not clear whether this was done since the Audit Office considers public enterprises separate as distinct from statutory bodies, and there is no separate categorisation of departmental enterprises.
That apart, we noted that the Act requires all statutory bodies to have their accounts audited and presented to the concerned Ministers not later than four months after the close of the financial year. As at 31 August 2013, however, only four out of 40 such bodies listed
