Recently, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) in Eritrea hosted an extended capacity-building training program for internal auditors working within various government ministries, offices, departments, and other institutions. Convening in southern Asmara, the program featured the participation of dozens of employees from across the nation, reflecting a vast array of backgrounds and possessing varying levels of experience.
Throughout the duration of the training program, participants engaged with a range of topics, including modernizing and emerging trends in the field. The gathering also saw them discuss common challenges and issues that tend to arise during the auditing process, share particular experiences and best practices, gain useful and practical insights, strengthen and hone a variety of skills, and develop their individual capacities and competencies.
In a series of comments that were shared on local media outlets, Gebreselasie Mehari, the director of human resources development, explained that over the years numerous other training programs for employees have been organized by the OAG. He went on to add that a large number of employees have been provided with opportunities to study abroad.
The following paragraphs provide a short overview of the OAG in Eritrea, before going on to detail the multifaceted benefits that have been associated with upgrading skills and continued learning in workers.
The OAG in Eritrea
Worldwide, national auditing institutions are regarded as an important institution. In addition to playing a vital role in identifying waste, reducing inefficiencies, and suggesting ways in which government organisations can operate better, they promote effectiveness and ensure integrity, in support of the sound use of public resources. Empirical analyses have additionally demonstrated how they can help to reduce poverty and promote inclusive socioeconomic growth and development.
As per Legal Notice 14/1993-Article 2/25, the OAG in Eritrea is basically responsible for auditing government offices, national departments, state-owned enterprises, and other institutions, as well as regularly drafting comprehensive reports. Following Eritrea’s achievement of independence, the OAG was established in May 1992 through Proclamation No. 23/1992. (Not long after, this replaced by Proclamation No. 37/1993.)
While the OAG in Eritrea was formally established at independence, auditing in the country has a long history. According to files and statements from the OAG, auditing practices in Eritrea date back to the time of Italian colonization, during which an auditing office, then serving under the name “Controlere Generale Di Conti”, was established. The institution functioned to control accounts and properties within Eritrea, which was distinguished as Italy’s “colonia primogenita (first-born colony)”. Subsequently, during the years of the British Administration, the title of the auditing office was changed to the Office of the Auditor General, with its main foci being auditing and overseeing government assets, revenues, and expenditures. Later on, across the years of brief federation with Ethiopia, the auditing office reported to the then parliament, while following the illegal and forceful annexation of Eritrea by Ethiopia it became an important branch of the latter’s national auditing framework. At that time, it was responsible for auditing government accounts in Eritrea and several other northern provinces of Ethiopia. Finally, upon the liberation of Eritrea, the all-new OAG was established.
Although it was immediately faced with a plethora of significant challenges and a lack of resources upon its founding in the wake of national independence, the OAG has grown substantively and made not insignificant strides. Experience has grown and its services have expanded. Notably, capacity-building and continued learning have remained central priorities for the office. Over the years, through the close cooperation of a range of partners, including the Eritrean Center for Organizational Excellence and the African Organization for Supreme Audit Institutions – English speaking countries (AFROSAI-E), it has played host to a number of local and regional training workshops. As well, numerous employees of the OAG have been provided with various forms of support to enroll in different types of skills development courses, complete certification programs, and train overseas.
Importance of upgrading skills and continued learning
The recent training program organized by the OAG in Eritrea highlights the deep and multifaceted importance of upgrading or strengthening skills and continued learning for employees of all backgrounds. For one, countless studies and a large body of empirical work from around the world tend to show that employees – regardless of their individual experience, industry, or sector – tend to overwhelmingly desire upgrading their skills and having opportunities to strengthen or expand their professional development.
As well, upgrading skills and promoting continued learning helps to raise the morale, motivation, and engagement among employees, is often associated with lower rates of absenteeism, and contributes significantly to higher levels of efficiency and productivity. Within the context of a rapidly transforming world with a plethora of emerging developments, including automation, digitalization, climate change, technological advancements, and other trends, it also helps to ensure an adaptable, flexible, agile workforce that is closely attuned to – and, more importantly, able to effectively respond to – shifting demands.
What is more, acquiring new skills, developing new ones, and continuing to learn and develop can help to raise the potential of employees and promote their capacity for innovation or creativity. For instance, participating in training programs can allow employees to see novel ideas and expose them to new ways of doing things. This, in turn, can be applied to their current roles or future positions.
Over the years, the OAG in Eritrea has remained a vital national institution and it has made considerable contributions. Notably, the capacity-building training programs that it has continued to provide have represented an important part of the overall employee experience and offered a wealth of different benefits at both the individual and institutional level.