Two Audit General’s Office Staff Terminated For Earning from Government Contracts

The Auditor General Office has fired two of its employees who have been alleged to be earning simultaneously from the government contracts along with working in the office.

“The employees did not disclose this information to their managers. None of the employees involved were auditors,” said a statement from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG). “In two cases, an investigation was conducted, and the employees no longer work for the OAG.”

It has been confirmed by the OAG that a third employee is being investigated in relation to the work. The OAG further stated that former staff members did not have any outside contracts with the OAG and that it will not be disclosing the names of the companies with which they were involved.

The OAG said it will be rolling out additional ethics training for employees in the coming months and will ensure that, going forward, additional controls are “implemented to verify outside employment or contracts.”

The OAG’s Code of Conduct implies that the employees can engage in other work outside the office on the condition that it does not sabotage the neutrality of the OAG or violate the agency’s conflict of interest rules.

The rules also state that employment “either directly or on behalf of an external third party contracting with the government is considered to give rise to a conflict of interest unless the contrary can be established by the employee.”

Navneet Kaur