The Audit Bureau’s report for the year 2022 identified a series of violations in various government institutions and official departments in different sectors.

The report noted instances of non-compliance with the application of existing legislation, including municipal laws and regulations, procurement systems, financial systems, and guidelines for financial affairs, as well as regulations governing the use of government vehicles.

The report also highlighted the ineffectiveness of internal control systems, impacting their role in auditing all activities of the institutions under scrutiny.

It further observed a lack of implementation of digital transformation in all government operations and poor coordination and linkage between different institutions, leading to increased financial costs for the development, maintenance, and sustainability of computerized systems.

The report pointed out an increase in outstanding financial obligations and uncollected amounts owed to the general treasury and funds of several government entities, as well as an increase in the volume of loans and debts for several companies, municipalities, universities, and the municipality of Amman.

The Bureau's report revealed weaknesses in grant management by beneficiaries and a lack of coordination with the General Budget Department and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, resulting in the failure to achieve the objectives of several projects.

The allocation of funds for spending on certain projects funded by the treasury and loans during 2022 that were not effectively disbursed. The report identified 40 projects with net allocations totaling JOD 3.16 million that were not spent.

The report criticized the disclosure process of government revenue in the final accounts with total figures, without providing clarification within the final account data showing the sources of revenue collection (ministries/departments).

It also criticized the absence of a proper mechanism for conducting financial transfers and the failure to study the possibility of setting a ceiling for the value of financial transfers from current and capital expenditures estimated for the ministry or department during the fiscal year.

It further showed the absence of a designated entity in the Ministry of Finance responsible for the loans granted to various government entities. Differences in the values of loans shown in the Treasury cash statement compared to the Ministry of Finance records for the years 2020-2022 were evident.

It reported the disbursement of loans by the Ministry of Finance without allocating for it in the budget.

The report highlighted the increase in the growth rate of the public debt balance compared to the growth rate of the gross domestic product for the years 2020-2022, negatively affecting debt sustainability and the ability to continue borrowing and credit ratings issued by relevant international entities.

The actual capital expenditures for the Ministry of Health remained low compared to actual expenditures. The percentages were 9 percent, 10 percent, and 7 percent for the years 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively.

The report affirmed the inability of public universities to cover their actual expenses through their actual revenues and investments. It also noted some universities exceeding a 30 percent quota for admissions to some specialties in the parallel program compared to the total number accepted into regular programs.

Regarding the water sector, the loss percentage of drinking water reached 50 percent in 2022, necessitating the updating and rehabilitation of water networks, regular maintenance monitoring, and the reduction of violations of water pipelines.

The report highlighted the losses of several government-controlled companies exceeding the limit set in the Companies Law. There were weaknesses in financial performance, non-use of information technology, automation of financial operations, weak implementation of corporate governance practices, control systems, and internal control systems.

Regarding the responsiveness of institutions and companies to the Audit Bureau's observations and remarks, the report stated that 1,086 violations and observations were corrected, with an overall response rate of 21 percent, with the Ministry of Health having the lowest response rate.