By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Nov. 16: Financial Comptroller General's Office (FCGO) internal audit of the Fiscal Year 2018/19 has shown that there was Rs. 17.21 billion in arrears. It is about 1.55 per cent of the total mobilised budget Rs. 1109 billion.
The integrated annual report of the FCGO, submitted to Finance Minister Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada on Friday has also found that advances equal to Rs. 30.41 billion have been mobilised, however, they are within the due date to be cleared.
Information Officer of the FCGO Niraj KC said that the amount was smaller than the last year's arrears shown by the internal audit then.
"The size of arrears will go down significantly by the time we conduct the final audit," he said.
The FCGO has submitted the report to the FM as per the new provision of the Economic Procedures and Financial Accountability Act, 2019 which demands that the FCGO should prepare an internal integrated annual report every year and submit it to the Finance Minister by mid-November. The FCGO has submitted the report for the first time as per the new schedule.
Accepting the report, FM Dr. Khatiwada said that the internal audit played an important role in maintaining economic discipline.
He said that financial accountability, transparency and following the economic discipline were the major aspects of the federalism implementation. "Transparent and fair accounts are instrumental to make the fiscal federalism a success," he said.
Dr. Khatiwada pointed towards the need of reforms in public procurement laws, payment on the basis of work progress and stopping early payment in order to bring down arrears to zero.
Meanwhile, speaking at another programme organised by the GEFONT in Lalitpur on Friday, Dr. Khatiwada said that Nepal must work to obtain the demographic dividend and should devise better policies for the same. "Education and skills should go together and every youth should have an opportunity to be connected with the production process," he said.
Prime Minister Employment Programme was launched to provide employment to the people in need and with skills so that they could contribute to the society and their families, he said.