80. Audit of Accounts – Botswana Embassy, Brasilia  admittedly not all Missions were in this position, our audit of the Brasilia  Mission had revealed that the average monthly cash holding was P22  000 000 in the local currency bank account and P5 000 000 in the dollar  account against monthly payments of less than P1 000 000 in the  months in which rentals were not paid and close to P2 000 000 when  rentals were paid. Other Missions in similar situations were Johannesburg Consulate and Pretoria High Commission.  In my view, cash resources to be made available to the Missions should  be in line with their budgetary and any other specific requirements,  such as payments on behalf of other Ministries or Government agencies.  The audit of the accounts of Botswana diplomatic mission in Brasilia,  Brazil for the 6 months’ period from April to September 2017 had given  rise to a number of observations, the main ones of which were the  following-  (a) An examination of the cash book and related records for the  period under review had revealed that the Mission held cash far  in excess of their monthly requirements. For example, except for  the months in which quarterly payments for rentals were made,  the monthly expenditures were consistently around P600 000  whereas the cash holdings were well above P22 000 000. This  had resulted in the excess being invested and earned interest  totalling P1 824 714 in the 6-months period under review. In my  view, the cash holdings in the Missions should be in line with their  requirements and above that, the cash resources should form  part of Government cash balances at Bank of Botswana.  (b) The estimated revenue for the Mission was P1 820 000 which  comprised the undeterminable item of  Sundry Receipts  in the  amount of P910 000,  Interest on Deposit  P800 000 and  Private  Telephone recoveries  with P110 000. Although the Mission subscribes to a medical aid scheme with the possibilities of claims  and recoveries of expenses paid directly to the service providers,  there was no provision for this prospect in the estimates nor for  the refunds of VAT. The Accounting Officer’s clarification has  been sought and is awaited.  63 