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Farirai Machivenyika–Senior Reporter 

Local authorities continue to be dogged by governance issues and flouting of regulations and laid down procedures, the Auditor-General’s 2020 annual report reveals.

The AG’s findings were raised during a meeting of the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee Sub-committee on Local Authorities chaired by Chegutu West legislator Cde Dexter Nduna.

He said his Committee would ensure that culprits identified in the audit were brought to book.

The report had 42 percent governance issues which are perennially-related to the absence of key policies, non-compliance with laws and other regulatory provisions and mismanagement of assets. 

Bulawayo City Council, Gweru City Council and Chiredzi Town Council, among others, were operating without key policies and procedures manuals.

Chegutu Municipality was unable to provide the disaggregated values of its investment properties worth $41 347 871 and the Council could not reconcile its salaries bank account by $622 816 in 2020, reads part of the report.

The AG also noted that there was lack of accountability by local authorities that did not consolidate financial results from the operations of their subsidiaries. 

Harare City Council was not accounting for its wholly-owned subsidiaries in its financial statements.

Despite owning 100 percent shares of Pungwe breweries, Mutare City had not been preparing consolidated financial statements, further reads the report.

In addition, Harare City Council had unverifiable trade and other payables amounting to US$105 542 322 for the year ended December 31, 2018.

Gweru City Council was utilising estate funds for recurrent expenditure instead of capital expenditure as required by the Urban Councils Act. Moreover, the City Council was involved in unprocedural allocation of stands to two minors. 

In 2018, Gokwe Town Council allocated a commercial stand measuring 8 750m² to the Council chairperson without following due processes while in 2018, Nyanga Rural District Council recorded US$526 500 as stand deposits, but could not provide any supporting documents for such funds

Masvingo City Council bought 545 drums of bitumen valued at US$137 713 in 2016, but had not been delivered.

Gokwe Town Council failed to avail vouchers amounting to US$ 106 525 for audit in its 2017 accounts. 

Tsholotsho Rural District Council did not provide the 2018 road funds acquittals amounting to US$172 378 while Redcliff Municipality in 2019 purchased two pre-owned vehicles without approval and whose ownership had not been transferred to the Council a year later. 

In 2018, Chitungwiza Municipality applied new management salary scales without ministerial approval, while 51 percent of the Council’s water meters were dysfunctional. 

Strikingly, all the local authorities were not accurately accounting for beer levies deposited in their accounts by brewers as there were no supporting sales schedules as required by the provisions of the Traditional Beer Act, the report further reads.

The AG concluded audit findings warrant the attention of management and those charged with governance with most weaknesses related to governance, procurement, revenue collection and debt management.