By Innocent Sibonginkosi Ncube
Zim GBC News Editor
HARARE – A damning report from the Acting Auditor-General, Rheah Kujinga, has laid bare a crisis of accountability and financial mismanagement within Zimbabwe’s local authorities, revealing that a staggering 66 out of 92 councils failed to submit their 2024 financial accounts for audit.
The 497-page report, submitted to Parliament and obtained by Zim GBC News, paints a grim picture of systemic failures, including millions in unaccounted funds, undelivered equipment procured years ago, and a blatant disregard for audit recommendations.
The findings point to a severe breakdown in governance, with the report condemning the late submission of financial reports, which it states “results in the creation of serious gaps of accountability.”
A Culture of Non-Compliance and Missing Millions
The scale of non-compliance is vast. Beyond the 66 councils that missed the 2024 deadline, a further nine local authorities have still not submitted their books for the 2023 financial year.
The Acting Auditor-General’s office is still auditing accounts for some councils dating as far back as 2019.
Where accounts were submitted, auditors found alarming irregularities. Gweru City Council failed to produce receipts and invoices for procurements worth ZWL$883.1 million. In a separate transaction, the council purchased a backhoe loader for US$82,330 but paid US$102,048, failing to account for the US$19,000 overpayment.
Twelve local authorities, including Kwekwe City Council, Bindura Municipality, and Masvingo City Council, procured essential equipment like ambulances and fire tenders over three years ago that has never been delivered. The report warns that such late delivery “results in loss of value” for public funds.
Systemic Failures and Unheeded Warnings
Acting Auditor-General Kujinga directly linked the poor performance to the failure by most councils to fully implement the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). She noted that the 26 councils that have fully adopted the system under the Zimbabwe Financial Reporting Manual (ZFRM) have shown improved quality in their submissions.
A critical failure highlighted is the absence of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in most councils for managing revenue collection. Without these systems, councils account for revenue on a cash basis instead of an accruals basis. The report states,
“The effect of this approach is that local authorities lose revenue due to absence of a complete/updated database for their various streams of revenue,” leading to unaccounted revenue from parking fees and council-run schools.
Perhaps most damning is the revelation that councils are consistently ignoring previous audit recommendations. Of the 639 audit issues raised in the 2019 report, only 195 (30.5%) had been addressed by 2023.
Call for Action and Good Governance
In her report, Kujinga emphasized that transparency is the cornerstone of economic stability, stating,
“Good governance and transparency among local authorities are the basis of a stable economic environment and achievement of national goals.”
She called on the government to ensure her recommendations are implemented and expressed concern over the “serious mismatch between growth of towns and stagnancy of service delivery” in critical areas like water and sewer.
The report also castigates councils for not maintaining asset registers and failing to revalue their assets, which “impinged on accountability for public assets,” though it acknowledged many lack the financial resources to do so.
The findings present a formidable challenge for the government, underscoring an urgent need for oversight and reform to restore accountability in the use of public funds.
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