Annual certificates and reports of Auditor General

(1) Within ninety days after receiving the accounts mentioned in section 15(1) of this Act, the Auditor General shall send to the Minister copies of the accounts submitted by the Accountant General together with a certificate of audit and a report upon his audit of all accounts relating to the public moneys, stamps, securities, stores and other property of the Government and the Minister shall cause them to be laid before the next meeting of each House of the National Assembly without alteration. If the Minister fails to lay them before the National Assembly at the next regular meeting of the National Assembly, the Auditor General shall send copies to the Speaker for presentation to the House of Representatives and to the President for presentation to the Senate. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the National Assembly may by resolution, on the written request of the Auditor General, for good and sufficient reason extend for a further sixty days the period within which such reports shall be transmitted and copies of the resolutions shall forthwith be presented by the Clerk of the National Assembly to the Minister and to the Auditor General. (3) The Auditor General may at any time, if it appears to him to be desirable, send a special report on any matter incidental to his powers and duties under the provisions of this Act to the Minister for presentation to the National Assembly. (4) In his report to the National Assembly in pursuance of the provisions of section 120 of the Belize Constitution and subsection (1) of this section, the Auditor General shall, if he thinks the circumstances warrant it, call attention to any case in which in the course of the audit of the accounts reported on he has observed that, (a) the accounts have not been properly kept; (b) any public money was not duly accounted for; (c) the checks against irregularity and fraud were inadequate or ineffective; (d) the laws, directions and instructions relating to finance and accounts appear to be inadequate; or where adequate have not been carried out; (e) there has been apparent neglect in the assessment or collection of revenue; (f) any disbursement of public moneys exceeded the proper authority or was not applied for the purposes intended by such authority or was not properly vouched or certified; 24 (g) there has been apparent waste or extravagance in the Administration of government property. (5) In addition to subsection (4) of this section, the Auditor General shall call attention to any other matter which he considers should be brought to the notice of the National Assembly.