The Ministry of Women has accepted findings in the Auditor‑General’s 2024 report that uncovered gaps in record‑keeping and reconciliation across some social protection programmes, while stressing no funds are missing and there is no evidence of financial misappropriation. Minister Sashi Kiran described the weaknesses as long‑standing and tied to manual systems and incomplete documentation rather than theft.
“At the moment, everything is manual. These are manual files, manual documentation,” Kiran said, reiterating that the government began a digitisation drive in 2023 to tackle the problems identified. The minister said the ministry expects that digitisation work will be completed by the end of the current financial year and that an end‑to‑end electronic process is being developed to prevent duplicate payments and enable immediate reconciliation.
Kiran gave an example of why manual systems make reconciliation difficult: cash vouchers issued through post offices often take time to return to central accounts, so the timing of documents arriving prevents on‑the‑spot matching of payments and receipts. “That will not allow double‑dipping, and that will allow reconciliation to happen immediately,” she said, describing the forthcoming mechanism as a key fix for recurring audit issues.
National Coordinator for Social Protection Reform Rozia Bi said the Integrated Beneficiary Management Information System (IBMS) will play a pivotal role in addressing the Auditor‑General’s concerns. “We are all looking forward to the IBMS, which is going to address a lot of audit issues that have been raised and also digitise all records, ensuring this integration as well with the relevant agencies,” Bi said, underlining that the system should help standardise data across programmes and partners.
Alongside the technical rollout, the ministry has introduced stronger standard operating procedures and begun nationwide staff training to ensure the workforce can use the new system. Kiran emphasised that beneficiaries would not experience service interruptions during the transition and that improvements in reporting are expected from next year once digitisation and training are fully implemented.
The ministry’s response comes after the Auditor‑General flagged record‑keeping and reconciliation gaps that complicate oversight of some social protection payments. Officials say the measures—digitisation, the IBMS, new SOPs and staff training—are intended to close those gaps and improve transparency and accountability without disrupting benefit delivery to vulnerable households.
As the ministry moves to finish the digitisation programme and stand up the IBMS, the effectiveness of the reforms will be measured by faster reconciliations, reduced manual interventions and clearer audit trails. For now, ministers insist that the issues are administrative rather than financial losses, with reporting upgrades due to show results in the coming year.
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