Question 119

Was the process of appointing (or re-appointing) the current head of the SAI carried out in a way that ensures his or her independence?
 * a. Yes, the head of the SAI may only be appointed by the legislature or judiciary, or the legislature or judiciary must give final consent before the appointment takes effect.
 * b. No, the executive may appoint the head of the SAI without the final consent of the legislature or judiciary.
 * c. Not applicable/other (please comment).

OBS Guidelines
Question 119 concerns the appointment process of the current head of the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI). Appointment procedures vary greatly across countries, as well as across different types of SAIs. Moreover, conventions and informal practices can greatly affect the de facto independence of the head of the SAI. While these factors make it difficult to devise a single metric against which all SAIs can be assessed with regard to this particular aspect, this question focuses on whether the legislature or judiciary must appoint or approve the appointment of the head of the SAI as a way to ensure the SAI’s independence from the executive. However, if the appointment is carried out in another way that nonetheless ensures the independence of the SAI head, then that approach could be also considered.

To answer “a,” the legislature or judiciary must appoint (or re-appoint) the head of the SAI, or approve the recommendation of the executive, as a way that ensure his or her independence from the executive. (As noted above, alternative approaches may also be acceptable.) Choose “b” if the appointment process does not ensure the independence of the head of the SAI, e.g. the executive may appoint the head of the SAI without the final consent of the legislature or judiciary.

Irrespective of which answer you selected, provide a description of how the head of the SAI is appointed.

1) Authoritative governments
If a country has a single ruler who has executive, legislative, and judicial powers, then answer “b” applies. For example, in Qatar, all powers regarding the appointment and removal of the SAI’s head rests with the Emir. The constitution gives the Emir unlimited authority with no separation between legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

2) What if law and practice appear to differ?
As of OBS 2021, the most recent Auditor General of Sudan had been appointed by the legislature in 2010 (the Prime Minister of the Transitional Government had just removed him as he overstayed his term limit of 10 years). The new constitution of 2019 declared that the executive has the power to appoint the Auditor General without approval from the legislature or judiciary. Given the above, in OBS 2021, we scored this question “b”. See more detailed explanation in the Sudan questionnaire.