Ombudsman John Walters has hit back at accusations by PDM that he failed to act against August 26’s failure to table its audited financial statement.
PDM’s McHenry Venaani said his party in 2018 wrote to Walters asking him to render a legal opinion on the legality of auditing the defence company. He said Walters never gave them an opinion on the matter.
Venaani said Walters has rather opted to write to State House agreeing that the books of August 26 must be audited.
Walters, however, countered that a report on his findings in the matter was forwarded to the PDM office and that of the minister of public enterprises, Leon Jooste.
In the report, the Ombudsman highlighted how his efforts to obtain clarity and information on the auditing process for August 26 was blocked by many relevant state institutions.
Walters also took a swipe at politicians who criticize his office for being a “toothless bulldog”, noting that many do not read his reports.
“They must all just shut up,” he said.
