SAV’s initiative of auditing water resources in the Mekong River Basin highly appreciated at the 55th ASOSAI Governing Board Meeting

The 55th Virtual Meeting of ASOSAI’s Governing Board

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According to the report presented at the meeting, during the period 2012 – 2013, within the framework of ASOSAI’s activities, a parallel audit on water issues was successfully conducted among 5 SAIs of Thailand (lead SAI), Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam with technical assistance from GIZ.

The audit results showed that at the national scale, there are still many shortcomings in the system of policies and laws and compliance with policies and laws on water resources management in general and for Mekong River Basin in particular, causing the exploitation and use of water resources without registration and planning permission and water pollution getting more serious.

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Mr. Hou Kai, Secretary General of ASOSAI and Auditor General of the People’s Republic of China attends the Meeting

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The success of the audit offered valuable experiences and lessons for the ASOSAI members in general and those SAIs in the area of Southeast Asia in particular in terms of efficient and sustainable usage and management of water resources, especially the ones flowing through the territories of many countries, thereby reducing negative impacts on environment and social security of residents living in the relevant areas.

In the field of environmental auditing, the SAV has been working with a number of countries to conduct the audit on water resources management in the Mekong River Basin to make recommendations on water quality assurance and avoiding negative impacts on water and social security. Following these efforts, the SAV will preside over the implementation of ASOSAI’s cooperative environmental audit in Southeast Asia during 2020 – 2021 with the topic “Audit the water resources management in the Mekong River Basin in line with the implementation of sustainable development goals”. The audit is expected to provide analysis, evaluation and solutions for the sustainable development of living environment of tnations around the Mekong River Basin. By presiding over the audit, the SAV has demonstrated its responsibility and efforts as the Chairman of ASOSAI for the successful implementation of Hanoi Declaration approved in the 14th ASOSAI Assembly in 2018 and environmental protection in the region.

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Board of Audit of Japan’s representatives attends the meeting

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Accordingly, the audit is expected to be conducted in the fourth quarter of 2020. There are three SAIs confirming their participation, including Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. It also received confirmation of technical assistance from the World Bank (WB) and the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation (CAAF). In the discussion on this issue, most members of ASOSAI’s Governing Boards expressed their concern, support and appreciation for the SAV’s initiative. With reference to the recommendation by Board of Audit of Japan on considering the receipt of support from external organization, the SAV will conduct in depth discussions with the ASOSAI’s Secretary General  before the implementation in oder to ensure independence during the audit.

Auditor General Ho Duc Phoc also emphasized that after the meeting, the SAV will preside over the development of action plan for conducting the cooperative audit.