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The outgoing Auditor General said that a small number of public officials engaged in high-level corruption are bringing discredit to the entire pubic sector as well as the executive and tarnishing the image of the country and there is an urgent need to address this problem and eradicate it.

In an interview with The Sunday Times Auditor General S.C. Mayadunne who retired on Friday after six years in the post said that in his assessment, less than five per cent in the public sector was involved in high level corruption.

“I am not saying the other 95 per cent are perfect but compared to those engaged in high level corruption, the lower level ones become immaterial,” he said.

The drafting of a new Audit Act, which took place during the tenure of Mr. Mayadunne is now under discussion at both the executive as well as the legislative level, and the outgoing AG said if the Bill is approved by Parliament in the same spirit in which it was drafted and provides the necessary autonomy as well as the financial and administrative independence needed for the Department, then the expected results can be achieved. Otherwise it would be a waste, he said.

“We have laid the foundation for a very competent state audit in the years to come.

I think that is the greatest achievement I have made as AG. We diagnosed the major problems we face and decided how we can arrange ourselves to march towards a more effective and influential state audit,” he said.

Mr. Mayadunne also said a strong internal audit unit needs to be established under the President who is the chief executive and in that way any misconduct, major misappropriations, abuse of power, corruption or serious malpractices can be minimised.

“You need good internal control to maintain accountability. This includes internal checks and internal audits. Today internal audits are not functioning to an acceptable level. Their independence is not strong enough”, he said.

He said there would be no clash between the state audit and an internal audit as the latter mechanism is established under the executive while the state audit is established under the legislature.

Mr. Mayadunne also said there is much room for expansion and upgrading in the AG’s Department as well as increasing professional competency with IT being one of the major components.” Audit techniques and new methodologies are a very important component for an efficient and effective audit, he said.

However, he said the changes to the Department cannot come in isolation but must be given as a full package. I believe within few years our institution should gain autonomy and produce meaningful results, he added. Mr. Mayadunne joined the Auditor General’s Department in 1973 as a Superintendent of Audit and rose to the highest level in the Department in August 2000.