Zimpapers Logo

Auditor-General Mildred Chiri

Cases of financial mismanagement at public entities including local authorities seem to be on the increase and this is very worrying. The challenges facing many parastatals are partly as a result of mismanagement of funds which has seen managers deliberately flouting procedures to enable them to steal public funds.

The Auditor-General Mrs Midlred Chiri’s office and Parliament’s Public Accounts committee have produced damning reports of mismanagement of funds by managers of parastatals and councils. According to the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, Bulawayo City Council’s books are in shambles raising a risk of embezzlement of funds.

In its report to Parliament recently the committee said the local authority does not have an asset register hence it was difficult to establish what the municipality was getting from rentals. The committee said it was also concerned about the huge backlog of the production of financial statements for audit.

The committee noted that in 2014, the Auditor General was auditing the 2010 and 2011 Bulawayo City Council accounts. This lack of financial management prudence is widespread in councils and parastatals. Recently the Auditor General’s office exposed a scam in which Air Zimbabwe received $23 million from the Traffic and Legislation Fund without approval from Treasury between 2012 and 2013.

The Public Accounts committee said the then permanent secretary for Transport and Infrastructural Development Ministry, Mr Munesu Munodawafa, authorised the disbursement without approval from Treasury. The audit observed that for the second year running, the fund made payment to Air Zimbabwe service providers without obtaining approval from Treasury. The payments were treated as long term loans although no interest is being charged which is contrary to provisions of the fund’s constitution. Members of Parliament recently accused the Zimbabwe National Road Administration of overspending public funds by failing to adhere to expenditures stipulated by an Act of Parliament.

The MPs said local authorities were not benefiting much from Zinara funds. They said the road authority was spending twice what it was supposed to spend on administration hence it was disbursing very little to councils for road maintenance. Zinara recently suspended its top brass in the finance, administration and human resources departments on charges which include violating tender and procurement procedures.

The Auditor-General has over the years produced adverse reports on management of public funds by public entities including Government ministries but it seems not much is being done to remedy the situation. Minister of Finance and Economic Development Cde Patrick Chinamasa said his ministry had established a unit within the ministry to study the reports from the Auditor General in order to determine how to respond to recommendations.

Most of the Auditor-General’s reports have highlighted flagrant flouting of procedures by those entrusted to administer public funds. We want to commend the Finance Ministry for establishing a unity to study the AG’s reports but we feel this is not enough. Relevant public entities, councils or Government ministries in our view, should respond swiftly to shortcomings identified by the AG in order to protect public funds.

Corrective action should be taken immediately and in some cases where some officials’ actions border on fraud, the culprits should be punished. What is disturbing is that the AG continues to highlight the same shortcomings every year which means no action is being taken to correct the mistakes.

It is time Government takes seriously the AG’s reports so that it strengthens its systems of administering public funds to minimise theft and pilferage.

Government should send a loud and clear message that it does not condone theft or mismanagement of public funds by punishing severely those found guilty.