THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA - Office of the Auditor General€¦ · THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA ... (KCCL) by...
Transcript of THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA - Office of the Auditor General€¦ · THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA ... (KCCL) by...
THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA
REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF
KILEMBE MINES LTD
FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2015
OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL
UGANDA
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................... iii
REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF KILEMBE MINES
LTD FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE, 2015 ................................................................. iv
DETAILED REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF
KILEMBE MINES LTD FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE, 2015 .......................................... 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1
2.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION .............................................................................. 1
3.0 ENTITY FINANCING ............................................................................................ 2
4.0 OBJECTIVE OF KILEMBE MINES LIMITED .............................................................. 2
5.0 AUDIT OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................. 2
6.0 PROCEDURES PERFORMED .................................................................................. 2
7.0 FINDINGS........................................................................................................... 3
8.0 DETAILED AUDIT FINDINGS ................................................................................ 4
iii
LIST OF ACRONYMS
Acronym
GoU Government of Uganda
IAS International Accounting Standard
KML Kilembe Mines Ltd
Tibet Tibet – Hima Mining Company Limited
UGX Uganda Shillings
USD United States Dollar
iv
REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF
KILEMBE MINES LTD FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE, 2015
THE RT. HON. SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT
I have audited the financial statements of Kilembe Mines Ltd for the year ended 30th June
2015. These financial statements comprise of the Statement of Financial Position, the
Statement of Financial Performance, and Cash flow Statement together with other
accompanying statements, notes and accounting policies.
Management Responsibility
Under Article 164 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995 (as amended) and
Section 45 of the Public Finance Management Act, 2015, the Accounting Officer is
accountable to Parliament for the funds and resources of Kilembe Mines Ltd. The Accounting
Officer is also responsible for the preparation of financial statements in accordance with the
requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards and the Uganda Companies Act,
and for such internal control as management determines is necessary to enable the
preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement whether due to
fraud or error.
Auditor’s Responsibility
My responsibility as required by Article 163 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda
19995 (as amended) and Sections 13 and 19 of the National Audit Act, 2008 is to audit and
express an opinion on these statements based on my audit. I conducted the audit in
accordance with International Standards on Auditing. Those standards require that I comply
with the ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable
assurance whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement.
An audit involves performing audit procedures to obtain evidence about the amounts and
disclosures in the financial statements as well as evidence supporting compliance with
relevant laws and regulations. The procedures selected depend on the Auditor’s judgment
including the assessment of risks of material misstatement of financial statements whether
due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the Auditor considers internal
control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of financial statements in
order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances but not for
purposes of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. An
audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the
reasonableness of accounting estimates made by management as well as evaluating the
v
overall presentation of the financial statements. I believe that the audit evidence I have
obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my opinion.
Part “A” of this report sets out my opinion on the financial statements. Part “B” which forms
an integral part of this report presents in detail all the significant audit findings made during
the audit which have been brought to the attention of management and form part of my
Annual Report to Parliament.
PART “A” Opinion
In my opinion, the financial statements of Kilembe Mines Ltd for the year ended 30th June
2015 are prepared, in all material respects in accordance with the International Financial
Reporting Standards and the Uganda Companies Act, Cap 110 of the Laws of Uganda, 2000.
Emphasis of Matter
Without qualifying my opinion, I draw attention to the following matters disclosed in the
financial statements.
Uncleared loan balance
Included in the Non-current liabilities, under Note 12, is an outstanding Loan from Ministry
of Finance (Privatisation Unit) amounting to UGX.4,700,000,000 inspite of the fact that the
Privatisation Unit received USD4.03m as upfront fee on the signing of the Concession which
could have been applied to offset this loan.
Impairment loss
As explained in note 3, Kilembe Mines Limited impaired its investments in Kasese
Cobalt Company Limited (KCCL) by UGX.11,085,885,120 after KCCL posted a negative total
equity of USD 40.9 million and having ceased its business operations. KML is likely to incur
more costs in settlement of outstanding liabilities from the venture.
John F.S. Muwanga
AUDITOR GENERAL
14th December, 2015
PART "B"
DETAILED REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
OF KILEMBE MINES LTD FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE, 2015
This Section outlines the detailed audit findings, management responses, and my
recommendations in respect thereof.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Article 163 (3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995 (as amended)
requires me to audit and report on the public accounts of Uganda and all public
offices including the courts, the central and local government administrations,
universities, and public institutions of the like nature and any public corporation or
other bodies or organizations established by an Act of Parliament. Accordingly, I
carried out the audit of the KML to enable me report to Parliament.
2.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Kilembe Mines Limited (KML) was incorporated in 1950 under the Companies
Ordinance as a private company. In 1975, the Government of Uganda (GoU) bought
majority shares from the previous owners and it became wholly owned by GoU.
Following decline in the world market of copper prices the business became unviable,
the mining operations deteriorated substantially. KML stopped mining as a main
activity in 1982 and has since then been placed under care and maintenance.
The principal activity of the Company was the mining and the marketing of copper
and allied minerals; however after the drastic fall in prices in the late 70s and early
80s, mining operations ceased and the company diversified into various activities
such as generation and sale of hydroelectric power, sale of lime, foundry products,
rental of its buildings and sub-lease of its land, sale of transmission and fencing
poles.
The Government of Uganda (Principal shareholder in KML) in 2013 leased its assets
in form of a concession to Tibet – Hima Automobile Industry Limited (Tibet) that won
the bid for the conceded assets of KML and subsequently entered into a Concession
Agreement with the GOU which among other things requires the revival of mining
activities at Kilembe to the point of processing copper and manufacture of finished
copper products. Under the agreement, the core assets of KML, which include the
mine, the mine works, the hydro-power station and attendant land and buildings,
were conceded to Tibet for a period of 25-years effective April 2014.
2
Therefore, KML’s new role as an asset-holding company is to track the investment
program of the concessionaire and (in so doing) to monitor the implementation of
the concession on behalf of GOU (by reporting on the key outputs).
3.0 ENTITY FINANCING
KML was financed by operating income of UGX 1,918,719,259 representing annual
decline of 31.5%.
4.0 OBJECTIVE OF KILEMBE MINES LIMITED
The objective of KML is to carry out monitoring and evaluation roles according to the
Concession Agreement between Government of Uganda and Concessionaire.
5.0 AUDIT OBJECTIVES
The audit was carried out in accordance with International Standards on Auditing and
accordingly included a review of the accounting records and agreed procedures as
was considered necessary. In conducting my reviews, special attention was paid to
establish:-
a. Whether the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with
consistently applied accounting Policies and fairly present the revenues and
expenditures for the period and of the financial position as at the end of the
period.
b. Whether all funds were utilized with due attention to economy and efficiency and
only for the purposes for which the funds were provided.
c. Whether goods and services financed have been procured in accordance with the
Government of Uganda Procurement regulations.
d. Whether management put in place sufficient internal control structure and the
internal controls worked as intended throughout the year.
e. Whether the management was in compliance with the Government of Uganda
financial regulations.
f. Whether all necessary supporting documents, records and accounts have been
kept in respect of all activities, and are in agreement with the financial
statements presented.
6.0 PROCEDURES PERFORMED
The following audit procedures were undertaken:-
3
(a) Revenue
Obtained schedules of all revenues collected and reconciled the amounts to the
cashbooks and bank statements.
(b) Expenditure
The payment vouchers were examined for proper authorization, eligibility and
budgetary provision, accountability and support documentation.
(c) Internal Control system
Reviewed the internal control system and its operations to establish whether
sound controls were applied throughout the period audited.
(d) Procurement
Reviewed the procurement of goods and services by the entity during the
period under review and reconciled with the approved procurement plan.
(e) Fixed Asset Management
Reviewed the use and management of the entity assets during the period
under audit
(f) Financial Statements
Examined on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in
the financial statements; assessed the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management; as well as evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation.
7.0 FINDINGS
7.1 Categorization of audit findings
The following system of profiling of the audit findings has been adopted to better
prioritise the implementation of audit recommendations.
N
o
Category Description
1 High significance Has a significant / material impact, has a high likelihood of
reoccurrence, and in the opinion of the Auditor General, it
requires urgent remedial action. It is a matter of high risk
or high stakeholder interest.
2 Moderate significance Has a moderate impact, has a likelihood of reoccurrence,
and in the opinion of the Auditor General, it requires
remedial action. It is a matter of medium risk or moderate
stakeholder interest.
3 Low significance Has a low impact, has a remote likelihood of reoccurrence,
and in the opinion of the Auditor General, may not require
much attention, though its remediation may add value to
the entity. It is a matter of low risk or low stakeholder
4
interest.
7.2 Summary of audit finding according to the above profiling
No Title of findings Significance
1 Uncleared loan balance 4,700,000,000 High
2 Impairment loss of Investments
UGX.11,085,885,120
High
3 Vacant positions moderate
4 Lack of an investment Plan High
5 Non Payment of Concession Fee moderate
6 Absence of a Project Linkage Plan moderate
7 Monitoring of activities of Tibet Hima Mining
Company
moderate
8.0 DETAILED AUDIT FINDINGS
8.1 Uncleared loan balance
Included in the Non-current liabilities, under Note 12, is a Loan from Ministry of
Finance, Planning and Economic Development (Privatisation Unit) amounting to
UGX4,700,000,000 which has remained outstanding for a long time inspite of the fact
that the company’s role has changed and is now there to monitor the performance of
the concession only. With no clear income sources, it is highly unlikely that the loan
will be settled.
I advised management to liaise with MoFPED and have the loan settled through the
concession proceeds that are paid directly to Privatization Unit.
8.2 Impairment loss
As explained in note 3, Kilembe Mines Limited (KML) impaired its investments in
Kasese Cobalt Company Limited (KCCL) by UGX.11,085,885,120. This was after KCCL
posted a negative total equity of USD.40.9 million and had ceased its business
operations of cobalt processing. The investment has never economically been viable
and no dividends were ever paid by KCCL.
As at 31st December 2014, the major shareholder (75%) had an outstanding
Shareholder loan of USD.48.96m therefore KML is likely to incur more costs in
settlement of outstanding liabilities from the venture.
5
I advised management to reconsider investment in UCCL in view of the declining
value of the Company.
8.3 Vacant positions
KML under the concession agreement between the GOU and Tibet has new roles that
include asset holding, tracking the investment program of the concessionaire and
monitor the implementation of the concession on behalf of GOU. As a result of its
new roles, restructuring was undertaken. In its new structure, the company is
required to have fourteen (14) full time employees. However, it was noted that 3
positions of key technical staff including a geologist, environmentalist and a mining
engineer had not been filled. As a result of these vacancies, management may not
undertake the roles set out in the concession agreement adequately.
Management acknowledged the need to fill the vacant posts but attributed it to lack
of funds.
8.4 Lack of an investment Plan
Section 3.2.7.2 of the concession agreement requires that the Concessionaire prior to
the procurement or acquisition of any one or group of conceded assets financed by
the concessionaire, submit to KML an investment plan consistent with the applicable
feasibility report, in a form to be agreed by KML and the Concessionaire indicating:
a) The proposed specifications of the assets to be procured or details of the
investment to be made.
b) The number of assets to be procured and amounts of other inputs required.
c) The proposed procurement methods, for information only; and
d) The estimated cost separated into the aggregated cost of items to be procured
and other costs to be incurred, for information only at this stage.
Contrary to the above, the Concessionaire had not provided KML with an investment
plan by the time of the audit despite procuring items worth USD3,796,121. None of
the procured items were agreed upon between the concessionaire and KML. This
violates the terms and conditions of the concession agreement, and also casts doubt
on whether the procured equipment would achieve the intended purpose.
Management explained that the submission date of the feasibility report was 30th
September 2015 and that although the investment plan has not been submitted, any
items so far procured by the Concessionaire before the investment plan is availed will
not be part of the Assets accounts to be maintained by KML.
6
I advised management to ensure timelines are adhered to and that the concession
agreement is complied with.
8.5 Monitoring of activities of Tibet Hima Mining Company
I undertook an inspection around the mill at Kilembe and the following observations
were made:
a) Lack of Protective Gear
There were a number of workers who did not have protective gear as shown in
the photo below.
b) Cigarette packs in the mill
Good safety practices allow for the creation of smoking zones in locations far from
fire hazards. During the inspection of the mill, close to 3 cigarette packets were
observed in the mill. This presents a risk of fire. It was observed that there were no
smoking zones in the entire operation Area and as a result workers smoked from all
locations in the mill and left the cigarette packs on the floor
7
Management explained that the issues of safety had always been brought to the
attention of the Concessionaire and although they had promised to comply, no
actions were taken.
I advised management to consider invoking section 24 of the agreement which
provides process of dealing with such continuous default and or non-compliance.
9.0 STATUS OF PRIOR YEAR AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS
I reviewed the implementation of the previous year audit recommendations and the
following table summarizes the status of implementation and actions taken by
management;
Issue Recommendation Status
Biological
Assets-These
had not been
disclosed
I advised management to conduct
a valuation exercise for the
biological assets and adjust the
financial statements accordingly.
Not implemented
A note was made in the
financial statements
pending valuation of the
assets.
Trade Payables-
There was an
increment in the
trade payables
figure of 137%
I advised Management to settle the
obligations to avoid litigation.
Implemented
8
I advised the company management to implement the outstanding audit
recommendation to ensure enhanced accountability and better stewardship of the
company resources.