LOWER HOUSE DISCUSSES STATE AUDITING REPORTS

( Editorial: --> 6368 ) ZAGREB, Jan 22 (Hina) - The Croatian State Auditing Office in 1997 carried out auditing for 1996 in 519 local self-government units and 194 other subjects, including ministries, the Government, and public and mostly government-owned companies, the chief state auditor Sima Krasic told a Thursday session of the Croatian National Parliament's House of Representatives. Krasic made the report at the beginning of a debate on a report on the work of the State Auditing Office for 1997 and a report on conducted auditing for 1996. The auditing covered an amount of more than one billion kuna, which is 50 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, Krasic said. The majority of budget users had acted in line with findings and recommendations of the state auditing, she added. The most frequent irregularities noticed in 1996 were, according to Krasic, surplus profit from the previous year not returned to the budget, unauthorised spending, and in some instances, non- compliance with a decree on the purchase of goods and services, especially in connection with open competitions, and shortcomings in the listing of property. The 500-page report is much more comprehensive than previous ones, but less open and clear, said Jozo Rados of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS). He assessed the report as "routine" and "mild". Ivan Gabelica of the Croatian Pure Party of Rights sees the report as incomplete, while to Marin Jurjevic of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) it "seems a little retouched". The most frequent remark was the fact that the report excludes the ministries for defence and the interior. Damir Kajin of the Istrian Democratic Party and Rados who, as members of the Interior Affairs and National Security Committee have access to the reports, suggested the reports be available to all representatives. The reports "contain nothing particularly secret", Rados said, adding "what has to be secret, is secret in these reports as well". Kajin believed specific war-time indicators on the ministries for defence and the interior should be filed ad acta. "This (case) has to be closed," he said. Opposition representatives complained the report excluded privatisation, one of the "most intriguing topics". Vladimir Primorac of the HSLS was shocked at what is going on at the High Trade Court, which purchased carpets and curtains from donations and without a public tender. Dragica Zgrebec of the SDP, Ante Tukic of the HSLS and Mladen Jurkovic of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) warned that some irregularities were being repeated, including non-compliance with a decree on the purchase of goods, services, contract awarding, etc. Zeljka Antunovic of the SDP believed the auditing office should make evaluations of the effectiveness of spending and the realisation of programmes. Several representatives inquired what had been done in the wake of state audit reports from 1994 and 1995. Josko Kovac of the Croatian Peasant Party asked what the purposefulness of the auditing was when there was no sanctioning. Chief state auditor Krasi disagreed with claims that the reports were milder, stressing the State Auditing Office was making them as before. She said that according to the international auditing organisation, the Croatian office was in its methods one of the better auditing offices in countries in transition. (hina) ha mm 221618 MET jan 98