MASERU — Caston Thahanyane, president of the Student’s Representative Council (SRC) of the National University of Lesotho (NUL), has denied allegations that he hired unregistered auditors to audit the body’s financial statements.
Thahanyane said the auditing was fair and transparent.
He said he used registered and professional accountants and auditors.
“It is not true that I used unregistered and non-existent auditors to audit the SRC income and expenditure statement,” Thahanyane told the Sunday Express yesterday.
This paper last week raised questions about the authenticity of the SRC accounts.
“I was provided by the NUL order 19 (Section 31) as president of the SRC to appoint an auditor to review our books,” he said.
Thahanyane said he decided to use more than one auditor to find more genuine results.
“I used Maila & Company and GH Auditors and Accountants. They are both registered with the Lesotho Institute of Accountants (LIA),” he said.
The Sunday Express is however aware that Maila & Company is not registered with the LIA as an auditing firm.
The company doesn’t even appear on the list of LIA members registered to provide basic accounting services.
GH Auditors and Accountants is however registered with the LIA.
“I used two auditors for the purpose of transparency in the eyes of those who would disapprove the first auditor,” he said.
He said there was no way he could appoint an unregistered accountant to do the books because the SRC constitution allows only registered auditors to inspect the SRC books.
He said it was not true that one of the auditing firms he used did not have a letter head.
“I made sure that I used registered auditors,” he said.
“I still knew I had to submit the reports to the university council so it would be insensitive of me to cheat.
“I was still going to answer before the council.”
He accused the secretary-general of the SRC, Refiloe Phakoe, of spreading false information about his operations.
He said Phakoe held a personal grudge against him and he was trying by all means to destroy him.
He said Phakoe did not know anything about the audit because he was still suspended from the SRC.
He alleged that Phakoe had been dismissed after he forged a M5 000 cheque and tried to cash it at the university bursar’s office.
“He is trying to destroy me because I suspended him from the SRC while his case was still being dealt with,” Thahanyane said.
“Now he makes all the false stories just to get back at me.”
Thahanyane said that he has never received any letter to inform him that he had been suspended as alleged by Phakoe in last week’s story.
“I have not received any letter of suspension,” he said.
“No one has ever charged me for wrongdoing. There has not been any committee selected to investigate my operations and there has never been any hearing against me.”
“Students are still fine with how I handle their issues,” he added.
“Recently they allowed me to handle their grievances on their pending loans.
“I held a meeting with them and everything just went fine.”
The Sunday Express called Phakoe for comment but his number was not available yesterday.