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Writes Lloyd Rabaya
The government has been urged to consider blacklisting companies that fail to deliver on their agreed terms to protect the public interest and ensure uninterrupted service delivery.
This came out this week when the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) hosted their analysis of the Officer of the Auditor Generals (OAG) reports with Parliament.
Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, Chitungwiza Residents Trust (Chitrest) Executive Director Alice Kuvheya said the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has a huge mandate to expose such companies or individuals to ensure taxpayers are not at the losing end.
“If anyone is mentioned in an audit for stealing, embezzlement, or any other unscrupulous activities, ZACC must take action. What is in the OAG’s report is exactly what we have been complaining about in Chitungwiza – the lack of transparency and accountability, public resources leakages, corruption, misuse of devolution funds, and management is focused on self-aggrandization, turning a blind eye to the residents’ concerns,” she said.
Recently, the trust wrote to parliament, asking it to order a forensic audit in the council as issues of transparency and accountability were raised.
Esther Mapungwana from the Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and Network (ZWRCN) dovetailed with Kuvheya and added that the issues in the OAG’s reports affect women more.
“We need to look at our legal framework and enforcement measures, like the penalties around funds or resources that are not accounted for.
If they know that nothing is going to be done to them, they will continue with it, and the diversion of public finances will continue,” she said.
She also highlighted that services such as health and water, among other key services, usually affect women more as they usually carry the family burdens.
A representative from the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust (YETT) highlighted that the OAG’s report exposed that the nation might not be moving in the right direction to create a good future for the youths who are tomorrow’s leaders.
“It is important to understand that youth and not a homogenous group, and in their diversity, they are at the short end of the stick from the findings. Some of the shortfalls in the report, young people looking for experience can do them for the local authorities, but there is no opportunity,” he said.
The representative also urged local authorities to tap into the young people to cover the gaps in the councils as they have brilliant ideas.
A representative from the Disability Association of Zimbabwe (DAZ) said persons with disabilities (PWDs) are among the youth, as well as the elderly.
Therefore, poor service delivery that affects these groups affects PWDs as well.
“Unfortunately, PWDs are not mentioned in the report, and they are left out, but issues that affect anyone else affect them more,” she said.
In his address, ZIMCODD economist, Zvikomborero Sibanda, urged the OAG to release the reports more frequently to make sure that the issues of concern are addressed effectively.
Sibanda also highlighted that the local authorities need to always be updating their financial books to foster transparency and accountability.
“Only 19 out of 92 local authorities had updated financials as of December 2023. Of the findings from the 2022 reports, about 71% were not addressed,” he said.
The report comes at a time when businessmen Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu are in remand prison on allegations of embezzling the government of ZWL$88 million from the presidential goat scheme.