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Mrs Ncube

Municipal Reporter
Harare City Council is losing thousands of dollars to employees who are issuing fake business licences and commuter omnibus rank discs, a situation which has raised the ire of councillors who have called on city officials to implement previous Audit Committee resolutions.

The councillors have urged city officials to implement resolutions in order to timeously curb revenue leakages.

According to the recent ordinary Council minutes, Audit Committee chairperson Councillor Enock Mupamawonde raised concern on the loss of funds by council through fraud and theft by employees, particularly those in the city’s procurement sections.

“The chairperson then clarified that the Audit Committee was council’s risk management arm.

“Its recommendations should thus be implemented timeously to curb revenue leakages. He then requested the acting town clerk (Mrs Josephine Ncube) to ensure that the heads of department timeously implement audit committee resolutions falling under their respective departments,” reads the minutes.

Recently, three city employees swindled the city of more than $30 000 through the fraudulent issuance of food handlers and medical examination certificates at Beatrice Infectious Diseases Hospital.

The director of Health Services Dr Prosper Chonzi had requested the audit after his staff suspected some anomalies on the issuance of food handlers’ health certificates, putting the lives of the public at risk.

Investigations revealed that council was prejudiced a total of $37 280 by three employees through various methods.

Quoting of genuine receipts numbers issued to job seekers on fake receipts generated in favour of food handlers accounted for $17 000 while fraudulently cancelled receipts accounted for $12 150.

Food handlers certificates issued on the basis of fake receipts with receipts numbers of already issued out receipts cost council $5 580 while certificates issued without payment to council amounted to $1 700.

The city was prejudiced of $850 through fake certificates sharing the same serial numbers with genuine certificates.

On the forensic audit of Harare’s wholly-owned companies and joint ventures, Clr Mupamawonde advised council that it was the custodian of businesses and joint venture entities and as such the Auditor-General is empowered to audit the companies due to the public asset component in them.

Council enquired whether the auditing fees had already been paid and by whom.

Mrs Ncube advised that the auditing fees had not been paid and council was responsible for payment of the same and it will recover the money from business entities.

Council had resisted the audit.