PHILIPSBURG:--- The General Audit Chamber submitted its report entitled “Mini audit: Efficiency of Government’s Office Space Policy to Parliament today. The report describes the analysis of the government’s office space/housing policy; what are the rental expenses and are the funds used efficiently? Are properties vacant and if so, why? Expenditure related to office space is a material element of the national budget. Analysis of the office space/housing policy and issuing recommendations to strengthen the efficiency of the rental expenditure were impacted due to insufficient information.
The Audit Chamber’s financial analysis is limited to a comparison of the realized expenditure for the rental of office space during the period 2016 to 2020. The Audit Chamber recommends drafting a policy governing office space and housing for the government apparatus. It was not clear why government chooses to rent in certain instances and whether leasing or rental is more beneficial than owning. In its conclusion, the Audit Chamber recommends that government seek improvement by developing readily available and reliable data in order to determine where savings are possible.
In a reaction to the audit, the ministry of General Affairs reports that it is developing an office space policy and that the recommendations will be adopted. The General Audit Chamber considers this as a positive step and will monitor the progress.
The report is published in both English and Dutch and is available on the website of the General Audit Chamber (www.arsxm.org).
